Mass Effect Dev Thinks The Franchise Would Make A Better TV Series Than Movie

Fans have been hankering after a big-budget Mass Effect movie for a long time, and now BioWare has shed a little light on the possibility.

Mass Effect itself is inspired by a number of key sci-fi movies of the '80s and '90s, like Star Wars, Alien, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Blade Runner and Starship Troopers, to name but a few. With a customisable character who was placed at the centre of intergalactic issues, BioWare wanted to produce an incredible "level of intensity and cinematic power" in the player's innate capability to change the course of politics and relationships with the branching choice systems. Of course, the game got a new lease of life with the Legendary Edition which improved the textures, shaders, models, effects, and technical features of the original.

"Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form," said creative director Casey Hudson. I've played the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect, and the work that has gone into it is commendable. However, not all of the changes are welcome ones.

Take a look at our comparison video here.

In an interview with Business Insider, Legendary Edition director Mac Walters covered the cancelled Mass Effect movie that would have been in the works with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. In spite of the enthusiasm from all parties over the promise of a Mass Effect movie, there was a real roadblock to contend with.

"When we build out a Mass Effect game, we have a backbone, or an overall story that we want to tell, but each level or mission is like its own TV episode," said Walters. "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."

Consequently, the problem lay in the sheer scope of Mass Effect, alone and as part of a trilogy. "It felt like we were always fighting the IP," explained the director. "What story are we going to tell in 90 to 120 minutes? Are we going to do it justice?" The train of thinking then shifted to a TV show, but unfortunately, it was difficult to sustain momentum on the project. Well, whatever happens, we want Henry Cavill involved. The actor was reading a printout of the Wikipedia entry for Mass Effect 3 earlier this year, but why? We'll let you know as soon as we find out.

Featured Image Credit: BioWare

Topics: News, Bioware, Mass Effect