With the Elden Ring film officially confirmed by A24, fans like myself who have spent countless hours exploring the Lands Between are feeling ambivalent about how the story and world will translate to the big screen. On the one hand, I am extremely excited to see the mystical and mysterious world of Elden Ring come to life in live-action and to be able to experience an IP I adore in a brand-new way. But I am also not naive, and can't help but think about the recent botched Borderlands film as an example of how terribly things can go wrong.

Making the Elden Ring film will be complicated, and its success hinges entirely on the story that director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Civil War, etc.) decides to tell. Elden Ring's lore is incredibly deep, but it's also intentionally vague and abstract, and simply finding the right entry point into the universe is going to be a challenge. Beyond that, the Lands Between are vast and sprawling, and capturing the scale of this setting is a huge undertaking. While I am hopeful and will remain optimistic, there are many ways this could go wrong.

Elden Ring's Story & Characters Won't Translate Easily To Film

How Do You Tell The Story Of The Tarnished?

The thing I'm most curious and concerned about is whether the film will even attempt to tell the "main" story of Elden Ring, i.e., the story of the Tarnished restoring order to the shattered world by defeating the Demigods, collecting Great Runes, and so on. While it's convenient for a video game to have a set of bosses to track down and follow a path to the Erdtree, I'm not sure a film following the Tarnished from one big boss to the next would be very gratifying.

Further, the lore behind the Shattering and each Demigod's unique origins and interrelationships isn't exactly fleshed out in the game unless you do some digging, with details provided largely through environmental storytelling. The "narrative" in Elden Ring is intentionally sparse, with very little actual dialogue with the main "characters," and limited cut scenes that tend to raise more questions than provide meaningful answers.

"Telling a story set in the Elden Ring universe doesn't necessarily mean we will focus on the Tarnished, though it seems like the most straightforward starting point."

This doesn't even for the various NPCs we meet along our journey as the Tarnished, including Blaidd, Fia, Renna, Alexander the Warrior Jar, or even the Dung Eater. How much will these characters be a part of the film, if at all? Telling a story set in the Elden Ring universe doesn't necessarily mean focusing on the Tarnished, though it seems like the most straightforward starting point. Regardless, the larger meta-narrative of Elden Ring is incredibly important, but it also likely won't be as interesting to a film audience as a hero's tale focused on a singular character's journey.

The Scale Of Elden Ring's Lands Between Will Be Difficult To Capture

The Lands Between Stretch From Caelid To The Mountaintops Of The Giants & Beyond

Aside from the central story for the film adaptation, capturing the scale of the setting is going to be a major challenge. The Lands Between are massive and stretch onward in every direction, from Caelid to the lakes of Liurnia to the Deeproot Depths and beyond. There are so many locations that I'm excited to see adapted to live-action, but at the same time, I don't know that audiences will experience the same sense of wonder and awe elicited as a player when entering areas like the Mountaintops of the Giants or fighting Radahn by Redmane Castle.

The film has a wide selection of awe-inspiring settings to choose from, but there's simply no way it will be able to include them all. While it's obvious we'll probably see Limgrave and the Roundtable Hold, the likelihood we see areas such as the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds seems a bit lower. Ultimately, capturing the scale of the Lands Between is essential in capturing the essence of the game, and if the film fails to do that, it would be a disservice to fans.

Director Alex Garland Is A Strong Choice For An Elden Ring Film, But It's A Daunting Task

A Great Director Doesn't Guarantee A Great Video Game Adaptation

A24's announcement of Alex Garland as the director for the Elden Ring film is an interesting one, and the choice has fans mostly divided. One good sign is that Garland has stated in the past that he actually plays Elden Ring, which should honestly be the bare minimum for directors involved with any video game adaptation. However, he seems to have played quite a bit, confirming recently to Reddit Purveyor_of-MILF that he's on New Game+6. This would indicate a true love for the IP, which can definitely go a long way.

Further, Garland's past work on films such as Ex Machina, Civil War, Annihilation, 28 Days Later, and Dredd is proof that he is more than capable of taking on projects of epic proportions. However, even with a stacked resume, a huge budget, a deep ion for the IP, and more, video game film adaptations have a history of being hit or miss (usually more miss than hit). Video game movies like Borderlands, Monster Hunter, Uncharted, etc., have been critical and commercial failures.

Having a successful and popular IP doesn't guarantee fans are going to see the movie, especially if it comes across as a blatant cash grab where the director and/or studio don't respect the fanbase. One thing is certain: if Alex Garland wants the film adaptation to be successful, he will need to do the game justice by respecting the core IP and proving to its dedicated fans that he cares about the world of Elden Ring as much as they do.

Fans Are Both Hopeful & Skeptical About An Elden Ring Movie

A Portion Of The Fanbase Doesn't Actually Care About The Story At All

Overall, the fan community is ambivalent about the Elden Ring film because there are simply more ways to get it wrong than to get it right. Personally, I really want the film to be successful, even being fully aware of the obstacles. But there is also a subset of fans that aren't particularly interested in Elden Ring's deep lore or in the plot of the game at all. Most Elden Ring players don't actually understand the main story, nor do they care to, as gameplay elements such as character builds, combat, and exploration are typically what keep them interested.

At the end of the day, I'm completely torn about the Elden Ring film. I am hopeful that it becomes one of the greatest video game adaptations to hit the big screen, but I am fearful that it could end up being the next Borderlands. I'm excited to see the world of Elden Ring come to life in live-action, but nervous that the world of the Lands Between won't have the same sense of wonder on screen. However, I'm choosing to remain optimistic about this project, so I'll be looking forward to more details as they release over the coming months.