Fast & Furious director Justin Lin to helm Helldivers movie

Helldivers is making the leap from console to cinema, and Sony has enlisted Justin Lin to direct the adaptation. Lin — widely recognized for his work on multiple Fast & Furious installments — will shepherd the film for Sony Pictures in partnership with PlayStation Productions, with Lin’s Perfect Storm Entertainment on board as a producer.

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Lin’s résumé includes The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023). Sources say Lin, not a gamer himself, plans to emphasize the characters’ humanity and contemporary themes while expanding the franchise’s world and mythology.

The screenplay is being written by Gary Dauberman, the writer behind the It and Annabelle series and The Nun. Dauberman also authored this year’s Until Dawn adaptation, making Helldivers his second project adapting a video game for the screen.

The Helldivers franchise shares DNA with films like Starship Troopers: its narrative follows patriotic soldiers from Super Earth who combat swarms of alien insects, hostile machines, and other extraterrestrial menaces. The original Helldivers debuted on PlayStation 4 in 2015; its sequel, Helldivers 2, launched on PlayStation 5 in 2024 to considerable praise and strong player engagement.

No release date or release window for the movie has been announced yet. While fans wait, you can read our original critiques of the games: Helldivers (2015) and Helldivers 2 (2024). Also keep an eye on other upcoming video game films, including a new Sonic feature, a Call of Duty adaptation, and PlayStation’s Horizon project.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter