By switching from a TV show to a movie, the live-action adaptation ofHorizon Zero Dawnhas avoided a huge mistake that could’ve ruined the franchise before it even began. Sony recently confirmed thatitsHorizon Zero Dawnadaptation will pivot to a movieafter beingdeveloped for a couple of years as a streaming series for Netflix. While the Netflix show was an exciting prospect, changing the adaptation’s format to a theatrical feature film is a much better idea that will surely pay off in the long run.
There’s still a lot that could go wrong in the execution of theHorizon Zero Dawnmovie.The casting of Aloycould make or break the project, andit’ll be tricky to translate the unique world of theHorizongames into live-action. But switching from a TV show to a movie is a great first step. Cinema is the best medium to tell this story. IfHorizon Zero Dawnhad been adapted as a TV series, it could’ve been a disaster.
It Would Inevitably Feel Small Compared To The Games
In theory, a TV adaptation ofHorizon Zero Dawnmakes sense. The open-world game is full of side quests for Aloy to go on, so it has an episodic narrative that seems tailor-made for the format of serialized television. Butwhat makes theHorizongames so great is their unique worldbuilding. TheHorizonuniverse intertwines the luscious natural world with the metal-grinding spectacle of robots; it has the potential to be as dazzling asAvatarorJurassic Park. A TV budget wouldn’t have been able to accommodate that.
Even big-budget blockbuster TV shows still feel like small-scale television compared to their big-screen counterparts.
Netflix has spent a lot of money on shows likeThe CrownandAltered Carbon, but even big-budget blockbuster TV shows still feel like small-scale television compared to their big-screen counterparts. Marvel Studios’Lokiis about as expensive as TV shows come, and while it has some impressive CG wide shots, it confines most of its scenes to two characters talking in a room. AHorizonTV show would inevitably feel small compared to the vast, gorgeous world of the two games.This world deserves to be seen on the big screeninaHorizon Zero Dawnmovie.
Some Of PlayStation’s Greatest Games Would Not Work On The Small Screen
The Last Of Us Is The Exception
Ever since PlayStation Productions was founded, it’s been relentlessly turning every major PlayStation gaming franchise into a movie or a TV show. Butmost of PlayStation’s big franchises are spectacle-driven and wouldn’t work on the small screen.The Last of Usworked great as an HBO drama, because it was basically already an HBO drama in video game form, but that’s the exception.TheGod of WarTV shownow has a different creative team because the original version was scrapped.God of War,Days Gone,Ghost of Tsushima— likeHorizon Zero Dawn, they’re made for the big screen.
