Horizon Live-Action Adaptation Based On The PlayStation Game Sounds Much Better Now After Major Behind-The-Scenes Change

Sony’s live-action adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn has switched from a TV series to a movie, which is a much more fitting approach for this ambitious sci-fi franchise. Since PlayStation Productions was founded in 2019, it’s been hard at work turning all the biggest PlayStation video game franchises into films and TV shows. It’s found plenty of success with its adaptations of The Last of Us, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, and Twisted Metal, and it has plenty more projects in development: a Helldivers movie, a God of War TV series for Amazon, and an anime called Ghost of Tsushima: Legends for Crunchyroll.

One of the most exciting adaptations coming out of PlayStation Productions is a live-action reimagining of Horizon Zero Dawn. Horizon Zero Dawn takes place in a curious world where nature and machines have become intertwined. The player takes control of a young hunter named Aloy as she traverses this world, fights the machines, and uncovers her past. Sony’s adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn was initially being developed as a streaming series for Netflix, but the project has since been retooled as a movie for theatrical release — and that’s much better.

Horizon Is Getting A Live-Action Movie Now (Instead Of A TV Show)

Columbia Pictures Is Taking Over The Horizon Adaptation

For a couple of years now, PlayStation Productions has been developing Horizon Zero Dawn as a streaming series for Netflix. But now, the Horizon Zero Dawn adaptation is being retooled as a movie. Columbia Pictures is co-producing the project for a theatrical release on an as-yet-unspecified date. Nothing else has been confirmed about the movie yet: no one has been cast as Aloy, no director has been attached to helm the project, and no screenwriters have been named to adapt the game into a screenplay. But even just this change of medium is promising.

Horizon Zero Dawn got a sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, in 2022.

When Horizon Zero Dawn was released in 2017, it was an instant hit. It won a bunch of awards and became one of the bestselling PS4 games of all time. It beat No Man’s Sky to become the biggest launch of a new I.P. on the PS4 and was the most successful launch on the PS4 since the blockbuster success of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. It’s no wonder that Sony is eager to turn a game this popular into a live-action franchise — and a movie is a much better way to go about it than a TV show.

A Horizon TV Show Would Have Been Very Difficult To Pull Off

A TV Budget Couldn’t Accommodate The Spectacle Of The Horizon Games

Aloy holding a bow outside of Meridian in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

In theory, it makes sense to tackle Horizon Zero Dawn as a TV show. It’s an open-world game with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. A big part of the storytelling is the side quests that Aloy takes on. These side quests give the game a very episodic feel that would seem tailor-made for a TV show. Whereas the straightforward, linear narrative of a game franchise like Uncharted made it fit for a three-act feature film structure, bigger open-world games like Red ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Redemption have a lot more ground to cover that might not all fit into a movie.

But the visual spectacle is what makes the Horizon games stand out. It takes place in a vast world with a totally unique aesthetic that would’ve been tough to pull off on TV. Aloy explores forests and mountains filled with robotic animals. This world has the potential to be as stunning as Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth, but that would be tricky on a TV budget. Netflix has very specific requirements for lighting that give its original content a bland, bright look. It would’ve been a disservice to shoot the world of Horizon in this washed-out style for the small screen.

Why A Horizon Zero Dawn Movie Is A Great Idea

It’s Already A Very Cinematic Experience

Aloy in Carja armor being chased by a stormbird in the snow in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

A movie adaptation is the best way to translate Horizon Zero Dawn into live-action, because it’s already such a cinematic experience. The action is spectacular, the story is mythic, the scope is epic, and the world is deeply immersive. The Horizon universe is essentially Jurᴀssic Park meets Terminator; it has the exotic jungle locales and creature-feature thrills of Jurᴀssic Park, with the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly machines and anti-A.I. themes of Terminator. It could look amazing on the big screen if it’s done right.

If they actually put in the time, care, and effort, then Horizon Zero Dawn could be every bit the dazzling cinematic spectacle that James Cameron’s Avatar movies are.

If the filmmakers rush the effects and phone it in, then it could end up looking like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. But if they actually put in the time, care, and effort, then Horizon Zero Dawn could be every bit the dazzling cinematic spectacle that James Cameron’s Avatar movies are. The small screen would’ve been too limiting; Horizon Zero Dawn deserves to be projected onto a gigantic screen in a movie theater.