Summary
- The Shadow of the Colossus film adaptation gets an update from director Andy Muschietti.
- The director confirms the project has not been abandoned and alludes to the project's budget and popularity still being debated.
- Sony Pictures announced that the live-action was in development over ten years ago in 2009, and the game’s director Fumito Ueda was brought on board the production.
The Argentine movie director Andy Muschietti, the auteur behind the It remakes and The Flash, has provided a welcomed update on the status of the Shadow of the Colossus film adaptation. Sony Pictures announced that the Shadow of the Colossus live-action was in development over ten years ago in 2009 and the game’s director Fumito Ueda was brought on board the production. Before Muschietti became attached, Chronicle’s Josh Trank was originally set to direct, but the professional had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
In addition to the long-awaited Shadow of the Colossus adaptation, Sony recently announced another wave of live-action films adapting some of its most prolific games at CES 2025. A new Helldivers movie was revealed to be in the works, even though many fans believe the 1997 action sci-fi Starship Troopers does a decent job at portraying the concept, and both a Horizon Zero Dawn movie and a Ghost of Tsushima animation were also confirmed in tandem.
During Radio TU’s La Baulera del Coso program, Muschietti discussed the Shadow of the Colossus adaptation and confirmed that the film was not “an abandoned project by any means.” It’s natural for fans to think the adaptation was benched, considering how long it’s been in development, but the director highlighted a few areas that lengthen the reimagining of a cult IP. “There are factors that have nothing to do with your hobby and desire to make it, but with how popular an intellectual property like this is.” Shadow of the Colossus is one of the best open-world games with sad endings, and because of its scale, Muschietti noted the project’s budget was still being debated, and confirmed there is a script he favors over the different versions that exist.
Shadow of the Colossus Film Adaptation Gets Update From Director
Other projects have tried to replicate the game's tone and mammoth colossi enemies, including Capcom's Shadow of the Colossus influence when making the 2024 action RPG Dragon's Dogma 2, but Sony’s original action-adventure remains a timeless classic in gamers’ hearts. Muschietti admitted he was not a “big gamer,” but the director labeled the game a “masterpiece,” and confirmed he had played it several times.
Ueda crafted Shadow of the Colossus’ brilliance and the professional has also founded his own studio. GenDesign’s new sci-fi game was announced at The Game Awards 2024, and the currently untitled game no doubt echoes the piercing isolation of the 2005 epic. Despite the high-definition remakes ending with the PlayStation 4 release in 2018, Shadow of the Colossus’ legacy will no doubt continue into live-action and hopefully appeal to loyal fans while inviting the uninitiated into its fantasy world.
