“Wait, there was a Dying Light movie in the works?” I hear you ask. Yes, and it could be coming to a theatre near you within the next decade or so. In 2016, Techland and Warner Bros announced the Spotlight Edition of Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition (talk about a mouthful), which cost $10,000 and included the opportunity for a “supporting role in Dying Light: The Movie”, alongside acting lessons, stuntman training, and a screening tour during the film’s theatrical release.
Many were quick to write this off as a stupid publicity stunt that imitated the £250,000 Apocalypse Edition of the original Dying Light, but it turns out that Techland was genuinely considering making a cinematic adaptation to its open world zombie game at the time, according to the game’s Lead Designer Tymon Smektała.
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“There were some talks about it", Smektala explains, "but with movies it’s never an easy process. I remember I was involved in some of those conversations but it was never really this huge thing that started really happening. There were some ideas about potential scripts, scriptwriters, and how this could look, but I don’t think it’s time yet. I would rather see a movie about Dying Light 2, which I think is infinitely more interesting.”
When 12DOVE asks Techland CEO Paweł Marchewka about the prospects of a Dying Light movie, he also maintains an interest in the idea, explaining that “If the proposal makes sense, then yes.”
“We wouldn’t let someone independently do whatever they want with the brand and ending up with a rubbish B movie or TV show. But if one day, let’s say, a producer or someone comes to us with a great idea then maybe. But right now we’re not actively looking. We want to make Dying Light 2 the best game for Dying Light players. And there’s only so much time we can spend doing other stuff.”
So there you have it. The Dying Light movie was briefly a thing, before it stopped being a thing, but Techland still isn’t ruling it out being a thing in future. As for the Spotlight Edition, no one was willing to pay $10,000 for a special edition of a video game. Probably for the best, as Techland might have been tied themselves into producing a movie it didn’t necessarily have the resources to make.
Stay tuned to 12DOVE for more news and coverage of Dying Light 2 later this week, or check out our guide to the best new games of 2019 and beyond.
