Call of Duty film aims for a more human story
The upcoming Call of Duty film is being shaped by two filmmakers with strong connections to modern military drama. Taylor Sheridan, known for Yellowstone, Landman, Sicario, Hell or High Water and Without Remorse, is working with director Peter Berg on the Activision adaptation.
Berg, whose credits include The Kingdom and Lone Survivor, says the project will look beyond battlefield spectacle. His comments suggest that Sheridan’s contribution will focus on the emotional weight carried by soldiers, rather than delivering a straightforward action blockbuster.
The approach may appeal to players who value the character-driven side of the series, particularly the modern military games built around figures such as Captain Price, Soap, Ghost and Alex. Berg describes those characters as complicated people rather than simple comic-book heroes.
Peter Berg highlights the cost of war
While promoting his Second World War film The Mosquito Bowl, Berg discussed the planned movie’s direction. He said the Modern Warfare stories contain a genuine emotional core beneath the weapons, military equipment and combat.
Berg’s central point is that the film will examine the consequences of war and the burden placed on people who choose, or are required, to stand between danger and everyone else.
He also said that he and Sheridan understand the “soul” beneath the series’ soldiers and intend to carry that quality into the film. That does not mean the adaptation will leave out action; instead, the intention is to give the violence and military hardware greater dramatic meaning.
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Activision’s long road to a Call of Duty movie
Activision and Paramount announced plans for a big-budget Call of Duty film in 2025. The stated goal was to preserve the qualities that existing fans enjoy while expanding the franchise for people who have not previously engaged with it.
Activision president Rob Kostich said the shared aim was to honour the series, broaden its world and create a theatrical blockbuster that would appeal to its established community as well as new audiences.
The film has been in development in one form or another for more than 10 years. Activision Blizzard Studios was established in 2015 to develop film and television projects based on the company’s properties, including an initially proposed “robust cinematic universe” for Call of Duty.
That earlier version eventually fell apart. Stefano Sollima, director of Sicario: Day of the Soldado, had been attached to direct a project based on Sheridan’s script, but the adaptation did not proceed in that form.
Call of Duty release date and competition
The current film is scheduled to reach cinemas on 30 June 2028. It will face competition from another major modern-military game adaptation: a Battlefield movie involving director Christopher McQuarrie and actor Michael B. Jordan.
Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl is scheduled for a cinema release on 30 October and is due to begin streaming on Netflix on 25 November.
Until more details arrive, the clearest indication of the film’s direction is Berg’s emphasis on character, responsibility and the consequences of combat. That combination could give the Call of Duty adaptation a stronger dramatic identity than a film built solely around familiar military set pieces.
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