Earlier this week, the biggest news in Hollywood was mega-producer Taylor Sheridan leaving Paramount for Universal. Today, though, Sheridan has signed on to write and produce arguably one of the biggest franchises in the entire world for the same company he’s leaving. And his attachment says way more than the usual breaking movie news.
The news is that Sheridan (who created the insanely popular Yellowstone universe and all its spinoffs) has signed to write and produce a Call of Duty movie along with Peter Berg. Berg, best known for films like Friday Night Lights, Battleship, and Lone Survivor, will direct, as well as write and produce. There’s no word on which, if any, specific Call of Duty game will be at the center of the adaptation, but Paramount says the film will be “designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences.” Call of Duty, of course, is the mega Activision video game franchise that’s sold over 500 million copies.
Berg hasn’t directed a feature film since 2020, instead spending most of his time doing streaming and TV. Sheridan has also been away from the big screen for a few years (he wrote and directed Those Who Wish Me Dead in 2021) but has been more than busy writing, producing, and creating not just the Yellowstone shows, but also Tulsa King, Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, and more. He’s basically the king of Paramount+, which is why it was such a big deal that he signed a deal worth a reported billion dollars to leave Paramount and move to Universal when his Paramount contract runs out.
But that’s not until 2028. Now, he’s joining Call of Duty. The timing almost feels like a shout to Paramount shareholders that “Hey, we’re still gonna profit from this guy for a while!” But beyond that, it’s a fascinating pairing because both Sheridan, with his aforementioned TV work, and Berg, especially with some of his more recent film work (Patriots Day, Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon), seem to carry with them a real rah-rah sense of traditional Americana. Very blue-collar, very working man, very everyman. That certainly makes it seem that’s what Paramount is looking for with Call of Duty. More of a down-the-middle military action film rather than anything too out there or weird. A blend of Black Ops and Modern Warfare, perhaps, while ignoring the franchise’s weirder entries. And, for a major corporation in today’s America, that’s probably the safest bet.
If that’s the Call of Duty Paramount wants, it’s certainly recruited the right guys. Will they actually be able to bring it all together and get a movie in theaters? Who knows? But rarely have two filmmakers joining a project given us such a clear vision of what that final film might be and how important it is to the studio.
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