Brett Ratner‘s lack of input and all, I never really figured a God of War movie was “dead” — the franchise is so popular and so, technically, cinematic that it’s impossible for it to slip away — but the going on this one has been far slower than you might expect. Thankfully for fans of the series, THR tells us that Universal has grabbed Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan — whose illustrious* writing credits include Saw IV-VII, Feast I-III, and this year’s Piranha 3DD — to take a shot at the video game franchise.

Executive producer David Self had written a first draft that, I can only assume, followed the classic video game. In which case, look forward to a story centered on Kratos, the Greek warrior who cuts his way through mythical creatures to track down Ares, the God of War, and attain vengeance for the death of his family.

Now, right there, you have the problem that’s plagued every single video game movie thus far: Although this story is not very complicated or sophisticated, the game itself is able to succeed because the actions you, as a player, are making create a sense of fun and general accomplishment. A movie about an essentially immortal being violently murdering faceless drones for 90 minutes — with Medusa or a couple of Hydra thrown in for good measure — before getting the big job done might, frankly, be kind of boring. I apologize if Melton and Dunstan‘s credits keep my expectations in check.

Is God of War viable material for a film adaptation, and is this the proper duo to make it?

*They did, to be fair, get rewrite work on Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, though the extent of their impact remains to be seen.