Metroid – Luke Kalamar
Way back in 2003, the idea of a Metroid feature film was floated around. It got some headway, but was ultimately canned before production began, which absolutely sucks. As a big Metroid fan, the cancellation of this movie disappointed me greatly. Technology had made outstanding strides over the years so a feature film on Nintendo’s most badass female had the potential to be awesome. It was something I would have absolutely loved to see. Not only do we not have a film now, Samus herself has remained absent from recent Nintendo lineups. This isn’t the future this character deserves, and I’m with millions of others hoping that something changes very soon.
Whether or not that brings us a Metroid film is beyond me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fantasy cast it. Here is who I want involved with this production and why it would be awesome.
Director: It’s no secret that Metroid was heavily influenced by Ridley Scott’s Alien. Samus’s archenemy, the Space Pirate Ridley, was even named after the director. So it goes without saying that a Metroid film should feature similar elements, like extremely dark and terrifying locales, freakish monsters, and terrible claustrophobia. However, recent Metroid adventures have boasted epic scale battles with enemies of insane size and abilities. They’re definitely more like sci-fi action adventures. A film will have to juggle both in equal measure to give Samus the story she deserves. With this in mind, I’d love to have either Joss Whedon (sci-fi and badass female history) or J.J. Abrams (proven experience adapting sci-fi staples) helm this.
Cast: A Metroid film will probably cover a wide swath of Samus’s history with a few creative liberties. My personal dream main cast is this:
• Samus Aran – Jennifer Lawrence: Lawrence has proven herself to be both an incredible actress and very adept at action films. Her time as Mystique and Katniss could translate very well into this role. Plus, since Samus is mostly silent, Lawrence can make huge headway to giving her a bigger personality. It also helps that, with the Zero Suit likely involved, Lawrence knows how to look good in blue.
• Ridley – Benedict Cumberbatch: You can’t have Samus without Ridley. Cumberbatch has done a lot lately, but one role he did especially well was Smaug in the recent Hobbit films. If he can channel that experience, we could have one terrifyingly cunning foe for Samus to battle.
• Mother Brain – Helen Mirren: This one is a little difficult to peg because Mother Brain is a supercomputer with absolutely no dialogue in game. I imagine that dialogue would be used for this character in the film, and that it will have a menacingly robotic and deceptively soothing tone. British people are pretty good at computerized voices, so something tells me I’d be happy with Mirren taking this.
• Adam Malkovich – Tom Cruise: Malkovich is where some creative liberties lie. He’s only appeared in one game, but the father-daughter dynamic he had with Samus in Other M makes him a great choice to flesh out some history. Cruise is getting up there in age and still knows how to lead an action packed story, and I can absolutely picture him commanding Samus from the Galactic Federation.
• Chozo – Morgan Freeman: The Chozo are the ones who gave Samus her trademark suit and abilities. They no longer exist but we could have our heroine interacting with a holographic remnant of one of their leaders. Who better to voice this sage-like race than a man with an infinitely soothing voice?
Plot: With such an impressive history behind it, Metroid begs to be told as a trilogy. The first film can follow the original game with a few changes. Simply titled Metroid, it follows Samus as she is tasked by Malkovich to destroy Mother Brain and stop the metroid threat. Along the way we learn about Samus’s past and she battles Ridley, a Space Pirate hired by Mother Brain for security. The second film could be something akin to Metroid: Ridley Returns, where Ridley comes back from his defeat as the classic Meta Ridley. It’s here we learn how his past actions connect to Samus, most of the federation is destroyed, and Samus resorts to using the unstable phazon to stay alive on her own. Finally, it ends with Metroid: Dark Samus. The constant use of phazon results in a phazon charged copy of Samus named Dark Samus, and now our hero is stripped of everything that made her strong. She must team up with other rival bounty hunters to save the universe or risk ultimate annihilation.
Why this would make a great movie/movies: Samus is one of the most iconic figures in gaming and one of the most empowering females in entertainment. Her real identity was a secret throughout the first game, and when it was revealed at the end, it blew minds. Fiction loves its male bounty hunters but Samus proved that females can do it even better. This is especially important in an industry where people are practically begging for more female lead films that don’t need a romantic undertone. Metroid provides that handily. It can also appeal to all horror, science fiction, and action fans out there if done right. With renewed interest in the Alien franchise, the timing couldn’t be better for another galactic, alien fighting franchise.
Nintendo might eventually return to Hollywood with their characters, and should that ever happen, Samus needs to come first.
[php] wp_link_pages(array(‘before’=>’
‘)); [/php]
=========================================================================================================
