There have been plans to make a movie based on
EverQuest, the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, for some time now. But with the game seemingly past its prime (although we hear
EQ membership is trending up again), we were all beginning to wonder if the flick would actually happen. It certainly wouldn't have been the first game-to-film adaptation to be announced with much fanfare and to subsequently languish in development.
However, sources tell IGN that Sony Pictures is still determined to bring the property to the screen. We recently learned that the studio is teaming up with former Marvel Studios honcho Avi Arad to make the movie based on the Sony Online Entertainment title. Reliable sources have informed us that Sony views the project as a potential blockbuster release for either 2009 or 2010.
For the unindoctrinated, EverQuest is based in the fantasy world of Norrath during the Age of Turmoil. The game's lands are inhabited by numerous races that you'd expect to find in a game like this -- humans, elves, barbarians, trolls and ogres, just to name a few. Each character belongs to a class such as druid, warrior, enchanter, ranger, rogue, or wizard, that defines their abilities and shapes their overall development. The players can engross themselves in an innumerable number of quests (hence the title), while playing with a group or going solo. The adventures are set in a vast world comprised of diverse landscapes that are inhabited by fairies, dragons, werewolves, orcs and other fantastical creatures.
Now, with the EQ movie seemingly on deck, it's time for us to take a closer look at how the flick might play out...
Story: Shrouded in Mystery
We've been told that 300 writer Michael Gordon has been tapped to pen the screenplay. The plot, as you might expect, is being kept tightly under wraps, but we know that the film will feature some of the most prolific characters in EverQuest lore. With the vastness of the game's backstory it could seriously go anywhere, but our best suggestion, and one we think the filmmakers are most likely to explore, would be to center the game around Firiona Vie, the sexy female high-elf featured in EverQuest's iconic box art.
The film could track a diverse group of characters -- with the most popular classes and races being featured in the main cast -- on a quest to rescue the kidnapped Firiona from the Iksar. Or the movie's action might center on the prolific conflict between Firiona and her nemesis Lanys T`Vyl. Each scenario offers plenty of opportunity for exploring the coolest parts of the game. We'd also split the cast into groups -- a la Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers -- and cut back and forth between their quests.
Director: Ghost of a Chance
With a writer already in place, the obvious question becomes: Who will direct the EverQuest movie? We think it's possible that producer Avi Arad will call on his pal Mark Steven Johnson, director of Ghost Rider and Daredevil, to helm the EQ flick. And while Johnson, who is also an established screenwriter, has not exactly struck gold with his comic book adaptations, we think he's shown enough potential that we'd consider trusting him with EverQuest. Johnson is currently writing the pilot for HBO's adaptation of Preacher (he's also executive producer on the series), but as far as we know he has no other plans after that, so availability isn't an issue.
We aren't anticipating the studio going after any really big names to fill the director's chair, but there are still plenty of other choices
EverQuest: The Movie! 
