drew
Jan 17, 2025
- #121
Just popping in (Hi!) as Google alerted me I was being name checked.
Elite Dangerous Movie - of course it could be done. Elite's lore is more than capable of being translated to the big screen or a TV series. I'd suggest a TV series might be better suited. There are many different facets of the Elite universe that could be picked up: space politics, alien invasion, itinerate spacer-crews trying to make a buck in a tough universe...
However! The trick would be coming up with something that hasn't already been done because (and speaking here as a big fan) Elite doesn't really do anything above and beyond traditional sci-fi fare that would justify making a film or tv series as is. Elite as a setting is inspired by multiple other existent SF works itself and is heavily derivative of them. There are very few original ideas in Elite, just iteration, amalgamation and modification.
To make Elite interesting enough you'd need a compelling narrative encapsulating space trading, exploration, combat, aliens, etc etc... but with a proper story to tell that extends way beyond that. Raxxla might be the obvious candidate. How the game plays (with us being "nobodies" in the universe") is irrelevant, because the story would have to be about "somebody" in order for a narrative to be written. If it were me I'd create some archetypical character types (eg. explorer, miner, trader, combateer, political types etc... maybe even chuck the Thargoids in) and generate some actual "people" out of those and flesh out their backstories using the existing lore. You can throw a few nods to the hardcore fans that way (e.g. combateer is a heavy drinker and likes Lavian Brandy), without de-railing whatever story you come up with with dull exposition.
If an idea was developed somebody would need to write what is called a "treatment" (summary of the intended show/movie) and submit it to the likes of Amazon, Netflix et al via an agency within which a relationship was already established. If successful that treatment would be purchased and then (optionally) developed into a full screen play/movie script. Only then would it have some "legs".
I don't think the brand recognition of Elite is an issue. It's reasonably well known, but you don't need to be a big name to get your story turned into a movie, game or not. You need to have the right contacts, with the right story and be able to pitch it well alongside a very generous dose of luck.
So, yes, it's possible. It's unlikely for a number of reasons, IMHO.
- Elite doesn't have a USP (unique selling point) differentiating it from any other SF franchise
- I don't see much evidence that anyone in Fdev has the resources, skills or time to write a treatment or plot a narrative of this type
- Fdev certainly have relationships with agencies, but the fact it hasn't been done by now suggests it won't be
- The odds of any such effort being successful are low, even if everything else is done perfectly
However, I've been wrong before and will doubtless be wrong again. Your friendly self-published author, who also happens to be a traditionally published author as well.
Cheers,
Drew.
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Cosmo
Jan 17, 2025
- #122
krazmuze said:
And that is what Fallout show did. They took the archtypical characters a player could be . They did not have any named lore character from the games as a main, the characters was your pc. The game was only a setting. You had a trio with different stories that each played the way a character would. The fresh shelter escape looking for dad, the wannabe power armour squire and the ghoul wanderer not realizing he was seeking redemption.
That is far better than master chief showing his head and when that was not enough they showed his butt. Established chars Hollywood ruins.
There are so many factions and worlds use different settings on different worlds and careers interacting with lore setting is the way.
Seconded. The primary characters in Elite would be a miner, mercenary and an explorer. Add 2 or more Powers for big story stuff. Optional: the Thargoids as the scary aliens. A good screenwriter, producer could make a good live-action series with that.
krazmuze said:
But Hollywood wants known ip that is a hit already. Amazon Prime can be more obscure with ip...and lower budget using game cut scene level cgi.
But I have no doubt iron man was not a success because dying comic book fans came to see it. The vast majority have no idea who these comic book chars are. They took obscure chars not a batman or superman that everyone knows. Nobody knew who the space raccoon and tree guy was either it was just a good movie
Yup most comic superhero characters are still unknown to the mainstream. There's HBO Max and a few others. The CGI is a lot less expensive nowadays. Some indiefilm-makers use Unreal Engine 5.
drew said:
So, yes, it's possible. It's unlikely for a number of reasons, IMHO.
[*]Elite doesn't have a USP (unique selling point) differentiating it from any other SF franchise
To me Elite's USP is that is more science-based, grounded like 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also the Thargoids are quite unique. There's INRA, Galcop, Raxla, The Dark Wheel. Elite has no anti-gravity tech, there are no super soldiers (space marines) or Jedi. The setting is in the future, but not too far from now.
drew said:
[*]I don't see much evidence that anyone in Fdev has the resources, skills or time to write a treatment or plot a narrative of this type
Fdev is not in the business of making movies or live-action series, but they could sell the license to people who would adapt it such as Christopher Nolan, Neill Blomkamp, Ridley Scott (almost retired), Alex Garland, Jon Favreau etc. Fdev would receive royalties and Elite would become more popular.
drew said:
[*]Fdev certainly have relationships with agencies, but the fact it hasn't been done by now suggests it won't be
I think this is just because it's not been a priority for Fdev yet. Fdev could do much more to adapt Elite to other entertainment than video games.
Wing Commander is not particularly unique, but a movie was made in 1999. It flopped, because the story wasn't good and they re-imagined the canon. The budget was only $30 million.
drew said:
[*]The odds of any such effort being successful are low, even if everything else is done perfectly
That's your pessimistic opinion. The Elite universe is already fleshed out, the technology, locations, factions, key characters, ships, SRVs. It needs to be in the right hands to make the adaptation a success. If the existing characters are shallow then additional backstory can be created. So Elite is suitable for live-action, movie adaptations.
drew said:
To make Elite interesting enough you'd need a compelling narrative encapsulating space trading, exploration, combat, aliens, etc etc... but with a proper story to tell that extends way beyond that. Raxxla might be the obvious candidate. How the game plays (with us being "nobodies" in the universe") is irrelevant, because the story would have to be about "somebody" in order for a narrative to be written. If it were me I'd create some archetypical character types (eg. explorer, miner, trader, combateer, political types etc... maybe even chuck the Thargoids in) and generate some actual "people" out of those and flesh out their backstories using the existing lore. You can throw a few nods to the hardcore fans that way (e.g. combateer is a heavy drinker and likes Lavian Brandy), without de-railing whatever story you come up with with dull exposition.
Seconded, but I think a story about e.g. Aisling Duval, Edmund Mahon and Felicia Winters (represent the 3 superpowers) and Li Yong-Rui (independent and for diversity) could work too. We know what they look like, their backstories and factions are useful. Maybe add an unknown pilot (explorer, mercenary).
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drew
Jan 17, 2025
- #123
Cosmo said:
To me Elite's USP is that is more science-based, grounded like 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also the Thargoids are quite unique. There's INRA, Galcop, Raxla, The Dark Wheel. Elite has no anti-gravity tech, there are no super soldiers (space marines) or Jedi. The setting is in the future, but not too far from now.
I see your "science-based, grounded" and humbly raise you hyperspace, visible lasers, very sticky pizza boxes, dubious inertia, shields, space pirates, untenable superpower military tactics ...
Don't agree with you on that at all. The lack of anti-gravity in the ED lore is a nonsense, since because our ships can survive insane collision velocities in normal space with little or no damage means that we must have control over inertia. If we've achieved that, anti-gravity would be a given.
The only meta reason why anti-gravity does not exist in ED is because DB wanted to have spinning space stations (and bits of Imperial cruisers - how utterly impractical that ship design is!) for aesthestics and there would be no reason to spin your stations otherwise. The decision caused huge problems when introducing Odyssey because they've had to fudge zero-gee environments (such as outposts) and make magnetic boots do things that magnetic boots can't do (magnetism is no substitute for gravity) - which is also a nonsense.
It would have been far more sensible to have anti-gravity available, but just for it to be impractical at certain scales. That way you could have local anti-gravity and keep your spinning space stations.
Alas, that ship undocked a long time ago. In short, ED is not grounded in science at all, at least, not the science that exists in the universe you and I live in!
Cheers,
Drew.
Cosmo
Jan 17, 2025
- #124
drew said:
I see your "science-based, grounded" and humbly raise you hyperspace, visible lasers, very sticky pizza boxes, dubious inertia, shields, space pirates, untenable superpower military tactics ...
Sticky pizza boxes = the Concourse is in a station that rotates to create artificial gravity or the box is sticky, magnetic. People would complain about game performance (frames-per-second) if they added physics to all the small items.
Shields = how is that not scifi. Space pirates = why wouldn't pirates exist in space? Or do you mean that they spawn randomly? That's a game issue. Untenable superpower tactics = so far it's sci-fi imo. Some in-game stuff is for gameplay reasons. It wouldn't be 1:1 the same in a movie.
drew said:
Don't agree with you on that at all. The lack of anti-gravity in the ED lore is a nonsense, since because our ships can survive insane collision velocities in normal space with little or no damage means that we must have control over inertia. If we've achieved that, anti-gravity would be a given.
Fdev must have an explanation for that one. I guess the shields and hull do that. Yes it made ED more complex as a setting.
drew said:
The only meta reason why anti-gravity does not exist in ED is because DB wanted to have spinning space stations (and bits of Imperial cruisers - how utterly impractical that ship design is!) for aesthestics and there would be no reason to spin your stations otherwise.
Well that also makes the ships and stations more distinct from other sci-fi universes.
drew said:
The decision caused huge problems when introducing Odyssey because they've had to fudge zero-gee environments (such as outposts) and make magnetic boots do things that magnetic boots can't do (magnetism is no substitute for gravity) - which is also a nonsense.
We haven't been inside an outpost yet. I hope one day we can. It would be magnetic boots or float around in zero gravity.
drew said:
It would have been far more sensible to have anti-gravity available, but just for it to be impractical at certain scales. That way you could have local anti-gravity and keep your spinning space stations.
Yes, but it would make Elite more similar to other space franchises.
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Ian Doncaster
Jan 17, 2025
- #125
Cosmo said:
Elite is absolutely not space-fantasy, it is far more grounded in reality, based on technology and science which makes it science-fiction.
The two aren't mutally exclusive. It's both.
Elite Dangerous absolutely has the Serious 80s Military Sci-Fi About Serious People aesthetic (gunmetal, beige and sharp corners). So the answer is never overtly "a wizard did it" [1]. But it has exactly the same concern for "how would the general availability of this technology affect society/economics/warfare" as Star Wars: "who cares as long as we can have spaceship fights".
[1] They're called Engineers in this setting.
Cosmo said:
Also the Thargoids are quite unique.
In what way? Their major points are:
- biomechanical technology
- exoskeletal lifeforms
- have their own agenda opposed and often hostile to humanity
- not directly communicative about what that agenda is
- hive mind, telepathic (obviously in the ED setting this has a totally scientific explanation behind it [2], not space magic)
- only surrender after they're dead, and possibly not even then
- corrosive attacks
- octagonal
- name taken from a 70s BBC radio comedy
And sure, I'll grant you that the WH40K Tyranids or the Alien xenomorphs are not octagonal, but it's not a big enough distinction to be worth paying for when "giant angry space bees" gets you three quarters of the way there for free and you can pick a better name too.
[2] Please don't ask what.
Cosmo said:
There's INRA, Galcop, Raxla, The Dark Wheel.
The problem with those is that Frontier have been so secretive about what they are that there's really not much more to them than the name and a one-sentence summary.
- covert military anti-alien research unit, somewhat ethically dubious
- collapsed superpower, slightly more interesting name than the others, going into more detail is going to give away that understandably no-one gave any thought in 1992 to the setting implications of making FE2 an Elite sequel
- space Macguffin
- people secretly and unsuccessfully hunting for the space Macguffin
Cosmo said:
If the existing characters are shallow then additional backstory can be created.
Yes. And there is the problem. It's not that you couldn't set a film in the Elite setting, it's that it'd only save you about 5% of the work of establishing the setting and characters. And since you're going to need to do the other 95% anyway, you might as well tell a story involving "Edward McHonda, general secretary of the Independent Systems Coalition" instead and not complicate things with licensing talks.
As before, the question is not "could you tell a story in the Elite setting?". There are thousands of pieces of fanfic out there (and a much smaller number of official works) showing that's possible. No-one is disputing that.
The question for a commercial production is "what story couldn't you tell without the Elite setting?", to justify the expense of the license.
aRJay
Jan 17, 2025
- #126
Cosmo said:
….
That's your pessimistic opinion. The Elite universe is already fleshed out, the technology, locations, factions, key characters, ships, SRVs. It needs to be in the right hands to make the adaptation a success. If the existing characters are shallow then additional backstory can be created. So Elite is suitable for live-action, movie adaptations.
…
From what I have heard of the publishing business about slush piles and Sturgeon’s Law I would say he is being an optimist and I doubt the movie business is any better. Remember they consider stuff a failure if they don’t make back many times the cost of the project in the first week.
Cosmo said:
Sticky pizza boxes = the Concourse is in a station that rotates to create artificial gravity or the box is sticky, magnetic. People would complain about game performance (frames-per-second) if they added physics to all the small items.
Shields = how is that not scifi.
They said not science-based they didn’t say not sci-fi.
Cosmo said:
Space pirates = why wouldn't pirates exist in space? Or do you mean that they spawn randomly? That's a game issue. Untenable superpower tactics = so far it's sci-fi imo. Some in-game stuff is for gameplay reasons. It wouldn't be 1:1 the same in a movie.
Fdev must have an explanation for that one. I guess the shields and hull do that. Yes it made ED more complex as a setting.
Well that also makes the ships and stations more distinct from other sci-fi universes.
We haven't been inside an outpost yet. I hope one day we can. It would be magnetic boots or float around in zero gravity.
Speak for yourself, I and many others have docked at Outposts and visited the Concourse Bar, I have even met other players there. Like the interior of a Fleet Carrier it is magnetic boots and like the interior of a spinning station there is litter on the floor.
Jinx Chrome
Jan 17, 2025
- #127
Cosmo said:
[...}
We haven't been inside an outpost yet. I hope one day we can. It would be magnetic boots or float around in zero gravity.
[...}
Oh really? But what is Hutton Orbital if it isn't an outpost? I even got my free 'conda from there!
EDIT: aRJay was faster
To contribute something more. @drew 's points are spot on. I loved reading his books and have to agree that the background setting of Elite is rather run-of-the-mill. Not because the creators were unable to make something better but because the setting is already very old and has been used so many times since its inception in the 80s.
And please don't ever reveal Raxxla unless there's not a new (and better) McGuffin.
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GroG79
G
Jan 17, 2025
- #128
The only story I see turning into a movie is the Theta-7 story
Theta-7 would be the main character
aRJay
Jan 17, 2025
- #129
GroG79 said:
The only story I see turning into a movie is the Theta-7 story
Theta-7 would be the main character
Just have to make sure people don't think it is a rip-off of "V for Vendetta".
metatheurgist
Jan 17, 2025
- #130
Pirates are a silly idea in this game because in the time it takes them to come over to my ship (in their multi-billion Anaconda btw) to ask "Let's see what tasty cargo you're carrying?" they could've mined the amount of stuff they asked for without it being a major health hazard of threatening me in my heavily armed ship. Wealth is literally lying around waiting to be picked up by anyone in this universe; it's the "anyone can be rich if they just apply themselves" fantasy come true. In a world where anyone can get rich with not much effort, these guys are not pirates, they're terrorists and stealing is just a lame excuse.
jojon
J
Jan 17, 2025
- #131
...oor, if people are going to walk around calling themselves: "Elite", or "Dangerous" anyway, maybe lean heavily into the whole silly-albeit-without-apparent-self-awareness aspect, and take all the realism inconsistencies along with that; Without losing the dog-eat-dog-edness of the society, of course -- "grimcamp", is that a word?
Cosmo
Jan 17, 2025
- #132
Jinx Chrome said:
Oh really? But what is Hutton Orbital if it isn't an outpost? I even got my free 'conda from there!
EDIT: aRJay was faster
I mean the areas that are visible in the see-through windows of outposts. Sometimes there's ships on display.
Jinx Chrome said:
I loved reading his books and have to agree that the background setting of Elite is rather run-of-the-mill. Not because the creators were unable to make something better but because the setting is already very old and has been used so many times since its inception in the 80s.
The sci-fi space setting remains interesting for a big audience. Just like medieval movies, there's room for more if it's done well. Elite's ships, SRVs, Thargoids some of the art style is distinct, the Elite logo and name are very recognizable. The factions have some generic traits are well fleshed out and ready to use for any adaptation. The Powers are distinct as well.
Which movie is exactly like Elite?
jojon said:
...oor, if people are going to walk around calling themselves: "Elite", or "Dangerous" anyway
The rank of Elite is always cool. Dangerous sounds a bit weird, but it works.
]
aRJay said:
From what I have heard of the publishing business about slush piles and Sturgeon’s Law I would say he is being an optimist and I doubt the movie business is any better. Remember they consider stuff a failure if they don’t make back many times the cost of the project in the first week.
Wing Commander was made with merely $30 million back in 1999. It's a bad video-game adaptation though. The Elite movie could be made with a low budget too. Special effects are not costly anymore by using Unreal Engine 5 or perhaps the Cobra engine tuned for movie-quality CGI. The budget depends on the parties involved, distributor, movie studio, actors. Fdev just sells the license and maybe retains final approval of key aspects.
metatheurgist said:
Pirates are a silly idea in this game because in the time it takes them to come over to my ship (in their multi-billion Anaconda btw) to ask "Let's see what tasty cargo you're carrying?" they could've mined the amount of stuff they asked for without it being a major health hazard of threatening me in my heavily armed ship.
This is a gameplay issue, but it can be explained: maybe the pirate was nearby, and maybe he or she does not want to mine. Pirates in deep space would exist.
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aRJay
Jan 18, 2025
- #133
Cosmo said:
…
Wing Commander was made with merely $30 million back in 1999. It's a bad video-game adaptation though. The Elite movie could be made with a low budget too. Special effects are not costly anymore by using Unreal Engine 5 or perhaps the Cobra engine tuned for movie-quality CGI. The budget depends on the parties involved, distributor, movie studio, actors. Fdev just sells the license and maybe retains final approval of key aspects.
…
While it only cost $30 million it only made $12 million an $18 million loss.
metatheurgist
Jan 18, 2025
- #134
jojon said:
...oor, if people are going to walk around calling themselves: "Elite", or "Dangerous" anyway, maybe lean heavily into the whole silly-albeit-without-apparent-self-awareness aspect, and take all the realism inconsistencies along with that; Without losing the dog-eat-dog-edness of the society, of course -- "grimcamp", is that a word?
Well, that's more silliness innit? I'd rather not walk around flashing the 'idea' that I'm 'Elite' or 'Dangerous'. It's like that guy in the action movie (we're talking movies so this is on topic ) where a bunch of guys are brought together for a job and there's one loon in the fancy outfit talking himself up at every opportunity and you already know within 5 minutes of meeting them that they will be roadkill in short order.
CapitanAceRimmer
Jan 18, 2025
- #135
It's a pity they dodn't use their technology to help create space based movies.
They could use an updated version of their galactic modelling and planetary landing tech.
It could be used to fund improvements that could possibly be put into the game at a later date.
jojon
J
Jan 18, 2025
- #136
"Tech" is a word that has lost all meaning to me, after years of hearing Star Citizen he's-more-accomplice-than-victim-now apologists gushing- and parrotting it over any minor and usually common thing.
Cosmo
Jan 18, 2025
- #137
aRJay said:
While it only cost $30 million it only made $12 million an $18 million loss.
Yeah Wing Commander 1999 flopped, but if it was adapted properly it could've made 5x, 10x returns.
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Inscydeus
Jan 18, 2025
- #138
Ian Doncaster said:
- hive mind, telepathic (obviously in the ED setting this has a totally scientific explanation behind it [2], not space magic)
[2] Please don't ask what.
If you think of them as...
"giant angry space bees"
...the "scientific explanation cough*handwavium*cough is probably pheromones and vibrations (molecules and gravitational waves).
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aRJay
Jan 18, 2025
- #139
metatheurgist said:
Well, that's more silliness innit? I'd rather not walk around flashing the 'idea' that I'm 'Elite' or 'Dangerous'. It's like that guy in the action movie (we're talking movies so this is on topic
) where a bunch of guys are brought together for a job and there's one loon in the fancy outfit talking himself up at every opportunity and you already know within 5 minutes of meeting them that they will be roadkill in short order.
Sean Bean in Ronin?
Markov Chaney
M
Jan 18, 2025
- #140
Cosmo said:
Seconded, but I think a story about e.g. Aisling Duval, Edmund Mahon and Felicia Winters (represent the 3 superpowers) and Li Yong-Rui (independent and for diversity) could work too. We know what they look like, their backstories and factions are useful. Maybe add an unknown pilot (explorer, mercenary).
Ah yes, galactic superpowers, and then a cool mercenary comes along and changes the course of the Rebels' resistance. That's definitely not been done before.
I can't really engage with the rest of your post. It's just you repeating yourself without actually making any counterpoints, except this time it's also you telling an established author IN THIS UNIVERSE that his opinion of the universe as a creative property is wrong.
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