Alex Garland's Elden Ring Film Embraces Epic Fantasy War

Which director would you choose to helm an Elden Ring movie adaptation?

You might consider fantasy legends like Peter Jackson or Guillermo del Toro, or perhaps Miguel Sapochnik, known for directing Game of Thrones' most epic battles including Hardhome and Battle of the Bastards. For avant-garde choices, filmmakers like Robert Eggers (Nosferatu), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), or Bong Joon Ho (Mickey 17) could bring FromSoftware's signature surrealism and cryptic storytelling to life.

Alex Garland wouldn't be most people's first guess. The British director specializes in grounded sci-fi like Ex Machina and Annihilation, plus war films Civil War and Warfare - none bearing obvious resemblance to FromSoftware's work. Yet A24 has shockingly chosen Garland to adapt Hidetaka Miyazaki's masterpiece. Given Garland's reputation for thoughtful filmmaking (he'll both direct and write the screenplay), it's fascinating to imagine his approach.

Initially, Garland seems an unlikely fit for Elden Ring. While experienced in sci-fi, he's never tackled hardcore fantasy - already a challenging genre, especially for video game adaptations. His narrative-driven style contrasts sharply with FromSoftware's environmental storytelling through items and world design. (Civil War faced criticism for lacking deeper backstory.)

But Garland thrives on reinvention. His filmography shows radical shifts - from writing The Beach to directing sci-fi thrillers and war films. If anyone can adapt Elden Ring's essence faithfully while putting his own stamp on it, Garland might be the perfect wildcard choice.

Garland's gaming credentials boost his credibility. Few know he's an avid gamer - Resident Evil influenced 28 Days Later, while The Beach featured a scene Polygon called "the closest to a Banjo-Kazooie movie we'll ever get."

Watching Warfare generates surprisingly Elden Ring-like sensations: feeling outnumbered, overwhelmed, and fighting desperately for survival.

Unlike directors who feign interest in source material (looking at you, Shyamalan), Garland genuinely loves games like The Last of Us and Dark Souls. He perfectly captured Dark Souls' poetic quality in a 2020 Gamespot interview: "You'll find broken souls muttering cryptic dialogue - like drifting through an existential dream."

He could approach Elden Ring like Annihilation's psychedelic visuals, or more intriguingly, adopt Warfare's visceral tension. While Warfare isn't fantasy, its intensity mirrors Elden Ring's gameplay - constantly fearing death (or lost runes).

Replace Warfare's Iraqi battlefields with Elden Ring's ruined landscapes, and you'd get a film capturing the Tarnished's desperate journey rather than convoluted lore. Imagine focusing on scrambling between Sites of Grace, the greater goal of becoming Elden Lord temporarily forgotten in the struggle to survive.

Reports suggest Garland wants Warfare star Kit Connor as lead, hinting Elden Ring might share similar tension and themes of fear and despair. Using Warfare as inspiration would play to Garland's strengths while following HBO's The Last of Us adaptation formula: understanding what makes the original work shine.

Elden Ring isn't about flashy superheroics. Like all FromSoftware games, it's an anti-power fantasy where nameless warriors endure countless deaths before hard-won victories. To succeed, Garland must capture that poignant struggle - and Warfare proves he understands exactly how to portray desperate survival against impossible odds.