Taylor Sheridan’s working relationship with Paramount led to the Yellowstone empire, but also many other successful crime dramas. However, the creator decided to leave the studio behind and recently scored a new mega-deal.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, his exit from Paramount isn’t as easy. Despite his new future deal with NBCUniversal, Paramount still wants him around because Sheridan is in talks to co-write the adaptation of Call of Duty, one of the biggest video games of all time.
Call of Duty has been popular for a long time, which led Hollywood to want to adapt it to the big screen. Activision holds the rights to the franchise, and Paramount Pictures won the rights to adapt it in late August. The studio won the major deal that had Universal Pictures and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment interested in adapting it.
However, there are very few details about the upcoming adaptation. Pete Berg (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Friday Night Lights), is closing his deal to direct the adaptation and co-write the script. At the same time, there is no screenwriter attached to the project, and Sheridan is reportedly interested in penning the script.
This will be a major return to films for the filmmaker. While Sheridan has been a very prolific creator for Paramount, his focus was on TV, leading to the Yellowstone empire, which features the flagship series, as well as the 1883 and 1923 spinoff prequels, and the upcoming spinoffs Y: Marshals and Beth & Rip, as well as titles like Mayor of Kingstown, Landman, Lioness, and Tulsa King.
His last film was in 2021, the Angelina Jolie-led action thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead. Sheridan directed and co-wrote the script with Michael Koryta and Charles Leavitt. However, the film was owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, not Paramount. He had also written 2021’s Without Remorse for Prime Video and 2018’s Sicario: Day of the Soldado for Sony Pictures.
The collaboration with Berg would also be exciting. The duo are longtime friends and have collaborated on the Oscar-nominated Hell or High Water, the 2016 Chris Pine-starring crime thriller, as well as the 2017 Jeremy Renner neo-Western crime thriller Wind River. Wind River is also set to receive a sequel, Wind River: The Next Chapter. However, Sheridan is not returning to write or direct. Instead, Kari Skogland is taking over directorial duties, and Patrick Massett and John Zinman are penning the script.
Call of Duty Will Continue a Long List of Hit Video Games Adaptations
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There aren’t any plot details about the Call of Duty adaptation, but Paramount Pictures has had success with adapting video games. Some of its recent hits include the billion-dollar Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
Video games adaptations have been widely successful, with the billion-dollar 2023 film Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is set to receive a sequel next year, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, both distributed by Universal Pictures. Warner Bros. also neared $1 billion this year with the joint project with Legendary, A Minecraft Movie. The film will also receive a sequel, set for release in 2027.