New Call Of Duty Report Reveals Why Steven Spielberg Got Rejected As Director

Veteran Hollywood director Steven Spielberg may be responsible for some of cinema’s biggest hits, but he has reportedly missed out on tackling the movie adaptation of a $30 billion video game franchise. Throughout his career, Spielberg has often dabbled in the video game space, with many of his films providing rich fodder for the gaming industry.

Moreover, the 1999 PlayStation Medal of Honor first-person shooter game concept was created by Spielberg himself, who was inspired by his work on the 1998 World War II movie, Saving Private Ryan. But regarding a similar game franchise, Puck‘s Matthew Belloni recently revealed that Spielberg also pitched his vision for a Call of Duty movie, but was rejected.

Steven Spielberg Has Missed Out On Directing A Medal Of Honor Rival

With the aim of also being educational, the vast majority of the Medal of Honor‘s later installments also featured a WWII-era setting. But following the initial success of Spielberg’s original game in the early 2000s, a new gaming studio, Infinity Ward, sought to develop their own WWII shooter, Call of Duty.

After surpᴀssing the game mechanics and appeal of the Medal of Honor series and spawning a slew of its own sequels, Call of Duty includes over 20 тιтles. Then, earlier this week, Paramount CEO David Ellison announced that a deal had been reached with game publisher Activision and that plans for a live-action Call of Duty movie were underway after 10 years of being stalled.

According to Belloni, Spielberg “really wanted to direct the CoD movie” and pitched his idea for the movie to the Microsoft-owned Activision team as well. However, Spielberg’s requirements for the final cut of Call of Duty and full control of production and marketing worried Activision, who instead went with Paramount’s offer, which would allow them more creative control.

Our Take On Steven Spielberg’s Call Of Duty Movie Pitch

Captain Miller and his squad standing in a destroyed French town in Saving Private Ryan — Captain Miller and his squad in Saving Private Ryan

With the Call of Duty franchise owing so much to Spielberg’s own Medal of Honor concept, Spielberg actively seeking out the project is an intriguing, full-circle moment. When his own game was inspired by Saving Private Ryan, it would have been interesting to see how much his Call of Duty plans echoed his 1998 movie.

However, given that the Call of Duty franchise also encompᴀsses warfare experiences in the modern age, it is possible that Spielberg’s approach could have steered clear of the game franchise’s original World War II setting. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what filmmaker Paramount now chooses to helm their own take on the franchise.