A TV adaptation of video game franchise “Wolfenstein” is in the works at Amazon MGM Studios.
The series will be executive produced by Kilter Films’ Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy and Athena Wickham, creator and writer Patrick Somerville via his chaoticgood.tv production banner, Keyframe Films’ James Altman of Keyframe Films and MachineGames’ Jerk Gustafsson.
Plot details for the series remain under wraps, though the logline states: “The story of killing Nazis is evergreen.”
The “Wolfenstein” video game franchise centers on U.S. World War II solider William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, who goes behind enemy lines to fight the Nazis and discovers their attempts to harness supernatural and occult forces to win the war.
The first game, “Castle Wolfenstein,” was released in 1981, and was subsequently followed up by 1984’s “Beyond Castle Wolfenstein.” The franchise would shift to first-person shooters with “Wolfenstein 3D” in 1992. In total, there have been 14 games, including the most recent virtual reality game “Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot.” The games are currently developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks.
A film adaptation of the franchise was previously announced in 2012, though it never ended up moving forward.
“Wolfenstein” marks the latest video game adaptation in the works at Amazon, following Prime Video’s “Fallout,” which has already been renewed for a third season, as well as “Mass Effect,” and “God of War.” Amazon is also adapting the table-top game “Warhammer 40,000” into a series led by Henry Cavill.
It also marks the latest collaboration with Kilter following “Fallout” and a TV adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ “Fourth Wing” with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society.
Somerville’s previous credits include Netflix’s “Maniac” and HBO’s “Station Eleven” and “The Leftovers.” He also was a writer on “The Bridge” and “24: Live Another Day.” Additionally, he published the books “The Cradle” and “The Bright River” and short story collections “The Universe in Miniature in Miniature” and “Trouble.”
Kilter Films is repped by WME, while Somerville is repped by WME and Artists First.
