Stuber director Michael Dowse to direct Just Cause movie

Hollywood has shown us many times over that trying to adapt a popular video game into a successful movie is not easy. Not only do you have to now deal with translating a multi-hour interactive experience into a structured narrative, but there are so many elements of games that just don’t work well in films and as a result, things need to be changed, taken away or added to make it all work.

A large part of making a video game move adaptation work though is nailing the tone of the source material and getting the characters right. Fans can deal with changes here and there but losing the heart and soul of a game series is inexcusable for many. For the planned development of a Just Cause movie, which has been circulating for almost a decade, that means finding the right person to play the role of Rico Rodriguez and emulate the level of action for the film. Something which the film project is seeking to achieve with Jason Momoa so far attached to star. Brad Peyton was previously set to direct, but given the turmoil of the film’s development cycle, Peyton has since pulled out.

But according to Deadline, it appears that a new director has been found, with Michael Dowse set to lead the project. The director of films like Stuber, Goon (Editor’s note: This is a criminally underrated masterpiece – Kervyn), and 2020’s Coffee & Kareem has only had experience in directing straightforward comedy or action comedies, which perhaps gives an idea of the tone that this film is going for.  

Derek Kolstad (John Wick) is writing the script for the film, with the new report revealing some details of what we can expect from the film’s plot. While the video game series mostly focuses its energy on Rodriguez, the film will be looking to add a female co-star to play opposite him, as some form of love interest. Maria Kane is arguably the most significant female character in the four-game series, and there is some suggestion of a romantic past between the two, so that character could be updated to serve as a partner in regime-toppling action with Rodriguez.

Perhaps the biggest concern about the news is that Dowse’s last two movies – Stuber with Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiana, and Coffee & Kareem with Ed Helms and Taraji P. Henson – have not exactly been great, with much of the humour and action not landing so well. You cannot just build a movie on star talent alone, so hopefully those last two projects are not an indication of the quality we’ll be getting out of the Just Cause movie if it actually ever does happen.

Last Updated: July 16, 2020