Amazon Studios is reported to be ‘nearing a deal’ to create a TV series based on the Mass Effect games, according to an interview with Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke by Deadline.
While the majority of the article focused on the recent launch of The Wheel of Time fantasy series, it touched on the potential of a deal with Electronic Arts to bring the space opera to the streaming service.
Salke is quoted saying that, “You will see us continuing to invest in fantasy genre of all kinds, we have a genre-focused team on the ground in Studios who work tirelessly with our creative partners on those slates, and you can look forward to more”.
From Eden Prime to Amazon Prime?
A new series would join 2012’s anime Mass Effect Paragon Lost on Prime Video.
A motion picture was announced in 2010, with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros acquiring the rights to a film adaptation, but never came to fruition. We suspect the trilogy’s controversial conclusion in 2012 that disappointed many fans may have dampened appetites in the boardroom.
In the wake of the hugely successful release of the Legendary Edition trilogy remasters this summer, project director Mac Walters told Business Insider Australia that, “It’s ‘not a matter of if, but when’ Hollywood takes a crack at Mass Effect'”.
Speaking specifically about TV versus film, Walters said that, “If you’re going to tell a story that’s as fleshed out as Mass Effect, TV is the way to do it. There’s a natural way it fits well with episodic content”.
He went on to explain that, “Each level or mission is like its own TV episode. It doesn’t get written ahead of time. It gets written at the time that we get to it. So it gets added to the main story and sometimes the main story gets adjusted because we did something really cool in that ‘episode.’ So long-form storytelling is a great place for game franchises”.
With The Expanse ending on Prime after six seasons, there’s certainly a sci-fi shaped hole in their schedule that could be filled by Commander Shepard and co.
Steve is an award-winning editor and copywriter with more than 20 years’ experience specialising in consumer technology and video games. With a career spanning from the first PlayStation to the latest in VR, he's proud to be a lifelong gamer.
