They're making a Metal Gear Solid movie. And since David Hayter knows both Hollywood as a big time script writer and Metal Gear Solid as the English language voice of Solid Snake, he's probably a good guy to ask about the movie version - even if he's apparently not writing the movie. And what does David Hayter think?
Does it need a movie? No. Do people want to collect the money that would be made from a movie? Sure. [laughs] I think that any time that a property is as valuable as this one, they're going to do it. It's not a question of if there is a need for a movie, it's a question of how do they insure that the movie is good, and worth watching.
And how would Hayter make Metal Gear Solid a movie worth watching?
I think, because of the scenes - there's so much movie in every Metal Gear game - it's like, well, do we really need to see a bunch more talking about Metal Gear? As a movie adapter myself, I would never take those scenes verbatim and put them up on screen; it wouldn't make any sense. I mean, a lot of times it doesn't make any sense in the game. But you're sort of speaking a language that all of these fans would understand.
In a movie, you're going to want, for the lack of a better term, a more American style of dialogue. Tighter scenes. Themes that aren't quite as ambiguous, that speak more to Americans. You're really watching a Japanese perspective of American military power, where as it would be interesting to me to see the American perspective on what American military power has become. Now it's kind of dubious right now, so it's an interesting time to sort of explore that.
If you're going to do it well, do it. If you're going to put out some piece of crap, then no. Nobody needs that. Why waste your two hours when you can waste 18 watching Metal Gear 4. [laughter] No, not waste. Not when you can add quality to your life by playing Metal Gear Solid 4. [smiles]
If Hayter doesn't end up writing the Metal Gear Solid movie and the flick stinks, fans will default to they-should-have-gotten-Hayter. And if Hayter does write the flick, the director and the producers might feel as though they're always deferring to Hayter and not making the movie as they see it.
Destructoid Interview: David Hayter [Destructoid]