Grand Theft Auto gets the movie treatment in a new concept trailer that casts actors including Will Smith and Samuel L. Jackson. In the decades since the release of the first game in 1997, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto franchise has become one of the most beloved and popular video game franchises of all time. GTA V was and continues to be a major success, and an anticipated sixth game is expected to release next year. A Grand Theft Auto movie, however, has yet to come to fruition.
Multiverse of AI now releases an AI-generated Grand Theft Auto movie concept trailer, imagining Smith as CJ and Jackson reprising his role as Officer Tenpenny, both of whom were key characters in 2005’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Check out the trailer below:
The trailer, which features a mostly emotionless AI version of Smith narrating, teases a star-studded film, which includes Idris Elba, Ving Rhames, Chris Rock, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldaña, Michael Peña, Kevin Hart, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew McConaughey, Donnie Yen, Jesse Eisenberg, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, and Ice Cube.
Will A Grand Theft Auto Movie Ever Happen?
What Challenges It Would Face
Grand Theft Auto V was a remarkably successful game, and there’s understandably been interest over the years in seeing the franchise make the jump to the big screen. There are a number of hurdles in the way, however, including what a movie would actually be about. While a number of Grand Theft Auto games have compelling stories, the franchise is arguably best known for the total freedom it gives the player in the open world sandbox, and this can be hard to turn into a movie experience.
2023’s The Last of Us and 2024’s Fallout are examples of two critically-acclaimed TV show adaptations of popular games. On the movie front, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and Five Nights At Freddy’s (2023) were also big hits.
In many cases, the fantasy or sci-fi world of a video game is a big part of the appeal of adapting it into a movie. The world of GTA, however, is essentially a heightened version of real-life. A Grand Theft Auto movie, then, could struggle to feel like anything more than a standard crime thriller with GTA branding. Despite this, however, the AI trailer above suggests a potential path forward.
Getting stars like Smith, Jackson, Elba, Rock, and others on board would be crucial for a Grand Theft Auto movie. A film would perhaps be better off choosing a specific game in the franchise, like San Andreas or Vice City, and directly adapting that instead of attempting a more broad franchise adaptation. While it doesn’t sound like a Grand Theft Auto movie is actually in the works at the moment, the widespread popularity of the IP would suggest that an adaptation will happen eventually.
Source: Multiverse of AI
