The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Justin Lin is officially set to direct the upcoming Helldivers movie for Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions. Lin is best known for his work on the Fast and Furious films, and this marks his next big step into the growing world of video game adaptations.
According to the report, Lin is also producing the movie through his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner. Hutch Parker joins as a producer as well, along with PlayStation Productions leads Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan. The script comes from Gary Dauberman, the writer behind well-known horror hits including It and Annabelle.
Helldivers has been a strong franchise for PlayStation since the first game launched back in 2015. Helldivers 2 pushed things even further last year with more than 12 million units sold across PS5 and PC in its first four months. The sequel later expanded to Xbox, growing the community even more. The series built its identity around teamwork, humor and over-the-top action, which gives a big-screen version plenty to work with.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lin is not a gamer himself and leaned into that approach when pitching the project. Insiders say he wants to focus on the characters, the world, and themes that feel relevant today. The Helldivers universe already has a lot going on. Shock troopers fighting alien threats like Bugs, Cyborgs and the Illuminate, spores floating around, and even reanimated Bug corpses. There is more than enough strange and fun material to play with.
This would give Lin another potential franchise at Sony. He is also attached to direct the live-action One-Punch Man movie and continues to work on other adaptations, including Brzrkr. Lin has a long history with high-profile projects, from Star Trek Beyond to several Fast and Furious entries, which have earned billions worldwide.
Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions have been pushing deeper into video game adaptations recently. Their previous collaboration on Uncharted delivered more than $400 million globally, and PlayStation Productions has found success with Twisted Metal on Peacock and The Last of Us on HBO.
We’ll keep an eye on the Helldivers project as it moves forward. It will be interesting to see how Lin brings Super Earth, the Helldivers and all the chaos that comes with the universe to the big screen.