Three days ago Paramount announced that it had signed a deal with Activision "to bring the iconic Call of Duty universe to life on the big screen." The breathless press release promised something for fans and newcomers alike, though gave no indication of when and where in the series' convoluted timeline (which spans everything from World War 2 to sci-fi space wars) it will take place.
Hollywood outlet Puck is now reporting that the Paramount deal comes after Activision turned down a potential deal with one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Steven Spielberg is "a big PC gamer" and has multiple links to the games industry, not least his involvement in creating CoD's onetime inspiration Medal of Honor, and alongside Universal pitched his own vision for what a CoD movie could look like.
Spielberg is apparently a big fan of the series, and obviously his name alone can get movies made, but that seems to have been the problem. With Spielberg comes, per Puck, "the famous Spielberg Deal, which includes top-of-market economics, final cut, and full control over production and marketing."
Microsoft-owned Activision baulked at handing over what amounts to more-or-less full creative control, and went with the Paramount pitch instead. Which seems… short-sighted, but what do I know of such matters.
"Imagine turning down the guy who made Saving Private Ryan to go with the studio responsible for the Halo show," reads the top comment on the CoD subreddit's post about the decision. That's probably a little unfair on Paramount, not least because Spielberg is credited as an executive producer on the Halo show.
But the point does stand, and you could also mention Spielberg's involvement in Band of Brothers as well as Schindler's List. Then there's his direct link to the history of CoD itself. Spielberg came up with the concept and story for 1999's Medal of Honor while immersed in WW2 research and after seeing his son play GoldenEye on the N64: the idea was a more serious and historical take on the military shooter. Spielberg would produce the first three games in the series before Activision poached key members of the MoH: Allied Assault team to form… Infinity Ward.
So it's not just that Spielberg is a big name or a great director: he's one of the key figures in creating the military shooter as we know it now, and clearly has great affinity for the source material.
Anyway… guess we have to file this one under "mind-boggling executive decisions" and wonder about what could have been. Paramount will no doubt find its own big name to attach to the project, and Activision can rest easy knowing it retains that precious creative control. But this is going to go down as a huge missed opportunity to create a CoD movie that, y'know, could have been great.
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