While cinema maestro Francis Ford Coppola hasn’t put out a feature film since 2011’s Twixt, he has just announced plans for a massive project. As Deadline reports, the director is set to return to the world of his seminal classic Apocalypse Now — but not in any traditional cinematic form. Instead, there are plans to create “an immersive, psychedelic horror RPG” where the player would step into the boots of Captain Benjamin Willard (originally portrayed by Martin Sheen) and journey into their own personal hell: Vietnam. To get things off the ground, his team has created a Kickstarter, where everything from downloads of the game (expected, as of now, for a release in October, 2020) to a making-of documentary will be gifted in return.
Says the director:
“Forty years ago, I set out to make a personal art picture that could hopefully influence generations of viewers for years to come. Today, I’m joined by new daredevils, a team who want to make an interactive version of Apocalypse Now, where you are Captain Benjamin Willard amidst the harsh backdrop of the Vietnam War. I’ve been watching video games grow into a meaningful way to tell stories, and I’m excited to explore the possibilities for Apocalypse Now for a new platform and a new generation.”
Coppola is teaming with Rob Auten, who has been the head writer on massive franchise games including Gears of War and Battlefield, along with Lawrence Liberty (game director, Fallout: New Vegas) and Montgomery Markland (lead producer, Wasteland 2), among others.
While movies sometimes have trouble being successfully adapted to games (though with better percentages than the other way around), it is an undeniably fascinating idea to have Coppola revisit his classic some 40-odd years later. Hopefully, it will deliver an experience that feels both strikingly cinematic and wholly original in its own right. See the Kickstarter video below.
Are you excited at the prospect of playing Apocalypse Now as a game?