20 video games with the potential to be great films

Imagine how much fun a Crash Bandicoot movie would be. Crash traveling the world to defeat Dr. Neo Cortex and save Tawna, all while being fueled on apples he finds along the way? The movie writes itself. 

Mario has already gotten the movie treatment, and it was amazing, but the powers that be need to put their movie magic toward creating a Mario Kart movie. Audiences deserve to see someone race Rainbow Road without the stress of having to control the vehicle themselves. 

There’s a 1977 film called Grand Theft Auto that served as Ron Howard’s directorial debut, but it has nothing to do with the video game. Because of some legal issues regarding that movie, it seems that the video game will never be able to be adapted to the screen, at least not under that title. But still, a screen adaptation would be fantastic. 

Sure, a Backyard Baseball game would essentially just be a remake of The Sandlot, but that’s even more of a reason why the movie should exist. The Sandlot is awesome. Why deprive the world of another awesome movie?

There doesn’t need to be a movie about a taxi driver who’s objectively bad at his job, but a Crazy Taxi movie in which the cabbie gets into all sorts of hijinks involving his vehicle and is an objectively good driver would be iconic. Something to think about. 

What would the plot of a Kirby’s Dream Land movie be? Unclear. But there have been thousands of movies made in the past where the plots are confusing and almost nonexistent. Why not give one of those movies to Kirby?

Like Kirby’s Dream Land, Pac-Man could be difficult to adapt to screen, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. A movie with a very meta plot or something akin to Jumanji or Wreck-It Ralph would be awesome. 

Fortnite is wildly popular. There’s no way it would flop as a film. It would be an awesome action movie with insane visuals and epic stunts, and it could lead to the discovery of the next Tom Cruise or Jackie Chan. There’s serious potential there. 

There hasn’t been a truly iconic alien invasion movie in far too long. And since the public loves video game screen adaptations and will never not be intrigued by aliens, there won’t be a bad time to create a Half-Life movie. 

Who hasn’t played Frogger in their lifetime? The classic arcade game has fans spanning generations, and it could be turned into a super cool animated film from the frogs’ perspectives, all of whom are just trying to get home. 

A Temple Run movie wouldn’t be too far off from an Indiana Jones movie, and those films have proved to be timeless and still interesting to crowds even decades later. If creators wanted to, an adaptation could also successfully take the horror route. 

There was a movie made about Tetris, but it would be cool to see an adaptation of the actual game. If filmmakers can turn Angry Birds into a movie, they can turn any video game into a movie. 

RollerCoaster Tycoon isn’t an obvious choice for a video game adaptation, but it could be awesome with the right script. Perhaps a war between amusement park developers to become the most popular park in the area? There are ways to make this game into a great movie. 

Pirates don’t get represented enough in movies, which is a shame because they’re so damn entertaining. But all that could be solved with a screen adaptation of The Secret of Monkey Island. This is another film where the script could basically write itself. 

Why should Mario be the only one of his Nintendo pals to have his own movie? Donkey Kong appeared in the 2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie and was kind of a star. He’s definitely got enough popularity to warrant his own film. 

Dragons aren't typically the main character, but Spyro is in his eponymous video game. And his game has all the makings of an iconic film. 

There's already a premise to Stardew Valley. All it needs for an adaptation is a script ... and a director, actors, producer, etc. But all of those feel totally achievable to ascertain should an epic script be written. 

A Sims movie is forthcoming, but a SimCity movie needs to happen, too. We've got to know how the sausage was made, so to speak, and that's exactly what a SimCity film would accomplish. 

Some of the best video game adaptions are the ones that only have a loose premise and let most of the plot unfold throughout gameplay. It allows for lots of different script paths, which is exactly how an Overwatch adaptation would happen. 

Once again, we need more feature films that feature aliens. There's a 1990 film called Spaced Invaders that got its name from the video game, but it wasn't technically an adaptation. This video game deserves better.