Aaron Rabin (“Jack Ryan,” “Nobody 2″) is set to write Universal Pictures’ film adaptation of Square Enix and Avalanche Studio’s bestselling video game franchise, ”Just Cause,” TheWrap has exclusively learned.
“Blue Beetle” director Ángel Manuel Soto, who just wrapped production on Amazon MGM’s “The Wrecking Crew,” is attached to direct.
Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, producers of action films “The Fall Guy,” “Bullet Train,” “Nobody” and “Violent Night,” will produce through 87North’s first-look deal with Universal.
The team behind “Tomb Raider” (at Amazon, and separately Netflix) and Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” will also be producing via Story Kitchen’s Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg and Timothy I. Stevenson, with Dan Jevons executive producing.
Debuting in 2006, the video game series follows the adventures of Rico Rodriguez, an operative for a fictional U.S. covert agency sent to destabilize and overthrow oppressive regimes. “Just Cause” is well regarded for its wide-open sandbox environments, over-the-top action and humor.
While the film’s plot is being kept under wraps, the video game draws its name from the real-life United States invasion of Panama, code-named “Operation Just Cause.” Rodriguez (aka “The Scorpion”) has become one of the few iconic Latino video game characters.
“Just Cause” is a major franchise for Square Enix, renowned publisher of titles like “Final Fantasy,” “Kingdom Hearts,” “Dragon Quest” and the legendary “Space Invaders.” It also follows Universal Pictures’ 2023 video game adaptation success stories in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which grossed over $1.4 billion and $290 million, respectively, at the global box office.
Max Jacoby will be overseeing production for 87North. SVP of production development Ryan Jones and director of development Tony Ducret will oversee the project for the studio.
Rabin’s credits include “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “Silent River” and the upcoming “Nobody 2.” He is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham. 87North is repped by CAA, JSSK and 42West. Story Kitchen is repped by WME, Pryor Cashman & TriplePoint PR.
