Legendary Pictures – the studio behind such hits as The Dark Knight and 300 – has nabbed film rights to Mass Effect, the EA-BioWare video game, according to HeatVision. I Am Legend writer Mark Protosevich, who recently worked on the Thor script, is circling the screenplay for the adaptation, which will be produced by Avi and Ari Arad, along with Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni.
Mass Effect is an epic sci-fi action game set in the year 2183, focusing on a human soldier and his starship, the SSV Normandy. The story involves a long-extinct race of aliens, dormant beacons and a basket of alien species.
According to the report, Avi Arad, former chairman of Marvel Studios, is also developing a feature film version of video game Drake’s Fortune.
Mass Effect will fall under Legendary’s co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros., who will distribute the film globally.
BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will also serve as executive producers on the project, along with Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect game series.
Below is the trailer for the Mass Effect 2 game.