Helldivers 2 Movie: Developers Shouldn't Have Final Say

The tech-focused CES 2025 unveiled several exciting movie and TV show announcements from Sony, including the confirmation of an official Helldivers 2 film in development. This project marks a collaboration between Sony Productions and Sony Pictures. While details are scarce, Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions, shared the news on-stage at CES, stating, "Looking ahead as to what might come next, I'm excited to announce we are working with Sony Pictures on developing a film adaptation of our amazingly popular PlayStation game Helldivers 2."

Helldivers 2, developed by Arrowhead, draws heavy inspiration from the cult classic sci-fi satire Starship Troopers. The game follows future soldiers fighting to defend a fascist Super Earth regime against alien robots known as Automatons and bugs called Terminids, all while promoting "Managed Democracy."

Fans are buzzing with questions about the Helldivers 2 movie, but neither Sony nor Arrowhead is ready to provide answers just yet. However, Arrowhead's CCO, Johan Pilestedt, responded to a query on X/Twitter about the developer's involvement in the film's production to ensure fidelity to the games. Pilestedt admitted to dodging the question but confirmed that Arrowhead would have some input. He emphasized that the team would not have creative control over the movie, which he believes is the right approach. "I've been dodging this question," Pilestedt said. "The short answer is yes. The long answer is that we'll see. We are not Hollywood people, and we don't know what it takes to make a movie. And therefore we don't, and shouldn't, have final say."

Given that Starship Troopers already exists, Helldivers 2 might seem an unusual choice for a movie adaptation. It will be fascinating to see how Sony approaches this project and who they bring on board. The film appears to be in its earliest stages, suggesting that more information might be a while away.

Helldivers 2 has achieved remarkable success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks. The game is currently experiencing a resurgence following the release of the long-awaited Illuminate update, which introduces a third faction for players to battle.

Sony's CES 2025 press conference also announced a movie adaptation of Guerrilla's Horizon Zero Dawn and an anime adaptation of Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima. Sony is clearly committed to adapting its video games into various media, with Season 2 of the hit HBO show The Last of Us set to premiere in April.