Alex Garland pursues Elden Ring live action with Miyazaki blessing

Alex Garland, the filmmaker behind Ex Machina and Annihilation, wrote an intensive, on-spec script to win the blessing of Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and secure a green light for a live-action film adaptation. The draft totals roughly 160 pages and was accompanied by about 40 pages of visual material. Garland and A24’s head of film traveled to Japan to present the package to FromSoftware and Bandai Namco, and the project is now moving forward at A24 with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin attached as a producer.

Garland’s level of engagement with the source material has been emphasized as a central element of the pitch. The director, who has repeatedly played Elden Ring, told interviewers he is on his seventh playthrough of the game and singled out the boss Malenia, Blade of Miquella, as particularly demanding. “I’m now on my seventh playthrough of that game,” he said, describing the trial-and-error approach familiar to players of FromSoftware’s work. The director’s immersive knowledge of the game appears to have been intended to reassure franchise stakeholders that the adaptation would approach the property with care.

Martin, who contributed background material...