A Thief movie is in the works

The history of movies based on videogames is not a particularly glorious one. It doesn't seem to matter how popular the game might be, or how natural a fit for the silver screen it appears; the end result is almost inevitably bad. So maybe the decision to base a film on the Thief reboot, sometimes known as Thief 4, or Thi4f, is an effort to buck that trend by turning it inside out.

Because, yes, a Thief-based movie is something that somebody is trying to make happen. The Hollywood Reporter says LA-based production company Straight Up Films has acquired the rights to the property, which is being written by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes. The movie “will be set in the game’s dark fantasy world,” according to the report, “where a master thief tries to restore freedom, which has been denied by a magic-wielding tyrant.”

IMDB credits Straight Up Films with ten movies going back to 2007, the most notable among them being the Johnny Depp vehicle Transcendence, while Mason and Boyes' most written screenwriting credit is Misconduct, a legal drama/thriller with a pretty impressive cast. None of which answers the obvious question: Why would someone want to make a movie based on Thief now?

Not that it isn't an interesting setting, but it's hardly so unique that it needs to be tied into a game—and the Thief name these days is hardly what I'd call a mainstream draw. I'm open to theories. Fantasy casting ideas are welcome, too.

Thanks, PCGamesN.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.