As a gamer, I always try to play every major video game franchise. The Metal Gear Solid franchise is one that I have a strange relationship with. I’ll be honest, I didn’t play all the games. I was too young to play the first few games when they came out. The one that got me into the franchise was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. As my first MGS game, it was unlike anything I ever played. First of all, the cutscenes. Man, there were a lot of cutscenes. However, the cutscenes made me feel like I was watching a movie. A really good movie, as a matter of fact. The more the cutscenes went on, the more invested I became in the story. The gameplay was fun, but when I finished the game, the franchise earned itself another fan.
Heck, I loved the cutscenes more than actually playing the game. How many video games have that affect on people? After finishing Guns of the Patriots, I did some digging into the lore of Metal Gear Solid. What I discovered was… very, very confusing. The whole storyline has a lot of stuff going on and if I had to pick one word to sum it all up, that word would be weird. I watched a lot of YouTube videos of the previous games many, many times to make more sense of it and I eventually made sense of it all. Well, at least most of it. I’ll be honest, I still don’t have a full understanding of the story, but that’s actually what intrigues me about it. It just keeps bringing me back to make more sense of it and no matter how weird it gets, I get more interested.
That’s the ultimate power of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. It’s weird and unique. There isn’t another gaming franchise like it and that’s why it has a great fanbase. Speaking of the extensive cutscenes, watching them made me think the franchise could make for an awesome movie. Of course, video game movies don’t have the best track record, but that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from trying. They’ve actually been planning a Metal Gear Solid movie for a while now, but like many video game movie projects, development is has been slow. Well, it seems like the project is finally picking up some momentum, as the Metal Gear Solid movie has found its lead actor.
The man helming the project is Jordan Vogt-Roberts. The only thing that I’ve seen that he’s directed is Kong:Skull Island. He’s been attached to the project since 2014. That was quite some time ago so I give him credit for his commitment to the project, but he still needs his lead. He’s also being backed by producer Avi Arad, the man who helped produced many old Marvel movies, including the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and the 2018 Venom movie. Sounds like a good crew (Kong: Skull Island didn’t get a lot of love, but I enjoyed it) but if they want a good Metal Gear Solid movie, they need a good lead actor. Vogt-Roberts just confirmed via Twitter (and emojis) that Oscar Isaac will be playing the role as Solid Snake. One of the emojis Vogt-Roberts used in his tweet was a snake for the record.
I’d say that confirms it. It’s also a good sign, because Oscar Isaac is on a hot streak right now. He was in Star Wars, the X-Men franchise, he’ll be playing Moon Knight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now he’ll be playing Solid Snake. It looks like the guy is going for every franchise. Now that he’ll be playing the main character of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, it gives me hope for the project. For one, it tells me that the movie is actually happening. They didn’t just cast some C-lister, they got Oscar Isaac. He either likes the series or he likes what Vogt-Roberts pitched to him. Either way, we have our Solid Snake. Now we just need the rest of the cast and of course, a story that’s loyal to the lore.
So what will the story itself be like? I’m guessing it’ll be like the games themselves. When I say that, I mean it’ll be weird. If that’s the case, then I’m all for it. When video game movies divert too much from the source material, they end up being dumpster fire. That’s why most of them pretty much are dumpster fire. We have, however, seen a change from the usual formula in recent years, so hopefully this new Metal Gear Solid movie will follow it. A good cast is the start of it and Oscar Isaac is a good leading man.
But the Metal Gear Solid franchise is loaded with exotic characters. Solid Snake is a man with extraordinary skills and he’s fought many enemies. I’m guessing this movie will adapt the storylines of the first and second games. His main nemesis will probably be Liquid Snake, his twin brother (or clone) and the leader of FOXHOUND. Liquid Snake’s mission was to lead a hostile takeover of a nuclear disposal facility in Alaska. His main goal was to acquire the remains of Big Boss, his “father”, and use his genetic information to treat the mutations affecting his army. Like I said, Metal Gear Solid is weird, but we’ve gotten used to it by now.
What drives Liquid Snake is his resentment of Solid Snake. He believes that Solid Snake carries Big Boss’s superior genes, while he received the inferior ones. However, it was later revealed that Liquid Snake himself carried the superior genes. This made for an interesting hero vs. villain storyline. I hope the movie sticks with this for the movie. Personally, I dig the sibling rivalry dynamic and it worked well in the Metal Gear Solid series. If Liquid Snake is the main antagonist, who else can join them? They can throw in Revolver Ocelot, a prominent anti-hero and rival of Solid Snake’s. He can be Liquid Snake’s right-hand and given his treacherous nature, his involvement can give us some surprises. Solid Snake himself needs an ally, so throw in Otacon as the brains to Snake’s brawn.
Now if the movie wants some crazy action, throw in Raiden. Having him could be an overabundance of characters, so maybe including him would be overkill. Still, that fight scene between him and Vamp in Guns of the Patriots was jaw-dropping. Wishful thinking, but maybe a sequel could make this happen.
If fans want some boss battle nostalgia, throw in Sniper Wolf and Gray Fox. A Sniper Wolf fight scene would focus on the stealth skills of Snake’s, while a fight with Gray Fox would show his CQC skills. Having things like that would show us that Vogt-Roberts wants to stay faithful to Hideo Kojima’s creation. Have the action scenes flow like the gameplay and it’ll be like playing the game in the theater.
What say you, Metal Gear Solid fans? Like or dislike Oscar Isaac’s casting, it shows that the project is gaining some momentum. If it does, I’ll watch it. I’m always wary of the video-game movie curse, but who am I kidding? I’m going to watch it either way. I just hope they keep some big cardboard boxes around on set. Wink, wink.
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