Fortnite movie in discussions and you can’t stop it

Fortnite Chapter 2 artwork — Bet they cast Chris Pratt in this as well (pic: Epic Games)

It was only a matter of time until Fortnite was turned into a movie and Epic Games is apparently already planning for it.

Considering how much of a global phenomenon Fortnite has become, it’s somewhat shocking that no one’s attempted to churn out a big budget movie adaptation already. With Epic Games planning to set up a new entertainment division though, it looks like they’re going to do it themselves.

It hasn’t been greenlit just yet but, according to The Information, via Eurogamer, this new division will focus on scripted video programming, with a Fortnite movie one of the projects being discussed.

As for why, well, obviously the answer is money. But The Information adds that the division’s creation is also the result of Epic Games’ lawsuits with Apple and Google. Since it can’t earn any revenue via the mobile market at the moment, (Fortnite won’t be back on Apple phones for up to five years), it’s looking to diversify its content.

Three prominent Lucasfilm employees have already signed on with Epic Games, including Jason McGatlin, the former VP of physical production and an executive producer on all of Disney’s Star Wars films. He now serves as president of the new division and is joined by Lynn Bartsch and Chris Furia.

There’s quite a lot of potential for a Fortnite movie. While Epic Games could always make it a standalone venture, it’s far more likely that they’ll have it be intrinsically linked to the game’s overarching narrative.

Believe it or not but Fortnite has some deep lore, that has slowly unravelled with each new update. The concept of the battle royale has even been justified as being part of a time loop, with the participants having their memories wiped each time they die.

The game also boasts a massive cast of original characters, many of which could serve as the stars of a movie. Either that or it could just pull a Ready Player One and take full advantage of the massive catalogue of cameo characters it has added over the years.

Movie adaptations of video games are certainly nothing new, but they’ve only recently begun to shake off the stigma of always being terrible. They might not be great movies but the likes of Detective Pikachu, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Mortal Kombat have at least been financial successful, with Nintendo due to give things another shot soon with an animated Mario movie.

Fortnite is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.