‘Chronicle’ director Josh Trank to helm ‘Shadow of the Colossus’

Are gamers finally going to be treated to a video game movie that doesn't suck? If director Josh Trank has his way, they may just be in for a long overdue treat.

Deadline reports that Trank, the 28 year old filmmaker behind last year's found footage superhero movie "Chronicle," has signed on to direct a live-action version of Sony's much beloved and acclaimed game "Shadow of the Colossus." A big screen version of the game has been in the works for years, but Trank is the first concrete sign that the film may finally happen.

"Colossus" sees players take on the role of Wander, a young warrior who turns to a mysterious entity to help him resurrect a girl he believes dead. The being agrees to help Wander, but only if he can slay the sixteen "colossi" that roam the strange land the entity inhabits. Wander's task is next to impossible though, since the "colossi" truly live up to their name -- the massive creatures range in size from a dozen feet tall up to a few hundred feet in height.

With the success of "Chronicle" earlier this year, Trank became a hot commodity in Hollywood overnight. The young director reportedly has three comic book projects on the go: A "Spider-Man" spin-off centred on the character Venom, Fox's reboot of "Fantastic Four," and the alternate history Soviet saga "The Red Star." This means a game-related project isn't much of a stretch. An avowed fan of designer Fumito Ueda's 2005 game, Trank reportedly sought out the job when he heard Sony was looking for someone to helm the film. That interest alone sets him apart from a director who might have been hired or assigned to direct the film by the studio.

The epic scale of "Colossus" would lend itself well to the silver screen, but for anyone who played "Colossus" the prospect of Hollywood getting its mitts on the property is probably slightly worrisome. Ueda's game is held in extremely high regard and is frequently cited by gamers when defending the medium as a legitimate art form. With its sweeping visuals and music, minimal dialogue, and fantastic confrontations, "Shadow of the Colossus" remains a testament to what video games are capable of in an industry dominated by uninspired first-person shooters. To see the property turned into a shallow, unimpressive movie is the last thing that gamers want.

Trank likely has the chops to make something interesting out of the adaptation, though. Plus, his familiarity with video games has already been demonstrated by "Chronicle." The "floating third person camera" technique used by the telekinetic characters in the film is incredibly similar to the virtual cameras that follow characters around in third person video games like "Shadow of the Colossus." A filmmaker who hadn't grown up playing video games likely wouldn't have made use of such an established game mechanic in a movie. Trank certainly seems like the right person for the job.

To get an idea of what "Shadow of the Colossus" is all about, check out the trailer for the recently re-released high definition version of the game below.