The Cyberpunk 2077 movie won't be 'a film adaptation of the game,' CD Projekt chief says

We learned last week that a Cyberpunk 2077 movie is in the works, an announcement I used mainly to talk about a completely different cyberpunk movie starring Keanu Reeves as a guy named Johnny who's having a bad week. Now we've got a bit more insight into what CD Projekt Red has in mind for the film, and it's possible that a guy named Johnny may not be involved at all.

"Our contract with Anonymous Content expired, and in the meantime, an opportunity arose to establish cooperation with Paramount Pictures," co-CEO Michał Nowakowski told Polish PAP Biznes (Google translated), referring to the Cyberpunk 2077 "live action project" that was announced in 2023 and ultimately went nowhere. "We decided that we would conduct a live-action Cyberpunk project in a new formula.

"At this point, we can only say that we definitely don't want to make a film adaptation of the game. We want to tell a story in the world of Cyberpunk, but it won't be a one-to-one translation of the game's story."

I loved Cyberpunk 2077, and the fact that it featured two Hollywood stars in central roles might make it seem like a natural fit for a direct translation. But I think avoiding that approach is the wiser move: V's story has been told, and trying to replicate it on film only invites unflattering comparisons and criticism. And it's not as though the world of Night City is short of other stories to tell, after all, nor would it be difficult to indirectly tie it to the game through references or cameos, if the urge to do so is really that strong.

Remember as well that two of the most successful game-to-screen adaptations, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Resident Evil, took their respective underlying settings and made them their own. That's basically what Cyberpunk 2077 is, as far as that goes: A vision of Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk tabletop setting, interpreted through the lens of a new timeline. They're all stronger for it, because they allow creators to work within a particular framework without tying them to specifics.

It's way too early in the process to say when all of this big-screen fun will actually happen, but Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is set to debut on Netflix on October 20.