Director Peter Berg says his upcoming live-action film adaptation of the blockbuster video game franchise Call of Duty will center on the realistic consequences of military combat rather than superhero tropes. Developed by Paramount Pictures and Activision, the movie features a screenplay co-written by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and draws inspiration from the Modern Warfare series. While speaking with ComicBook.com during a press junket for his World War II film The Mosquito Bowl, Berg emphasized that the adaptation will treat its soldiers as complicated human beings carrying heavy burdens. According to Variety and IGN, the film is scheduled for theatrical release on June 30, 2028, while Kotaku places the release window more broadly in June 2028.

Rejecting Comic Book Tropes for Military Realism

As studio tentpoles increasingly rely on heightened spectacle, Berg is intentionally steering the Call of Duty adaptation toward grounded military drama. Speaking with Law Sharma of ComicBook.com while promoting his Netflix war drama The Mosquito Bowl—a real-life story of college football stars who join the Marines after the attack on Pearl Harbor and play a game on Christmas Eve 1944—the Lone Survivor and The Kingdom filmmaker outlined his creative philosophy for the gaming property.

"If you really look at the missions and the storylines and the characters like Captain Price, Soap, Ghost and Alex, these are complicated humans," Berg said. "These are not, and no disrespect, cartoon characters or comic books. These are very nuanced storylines; there's a real soul to the 'Modern Warfare' universe. Yes, there's violence and hardware and equipment and killing. But underneath it, I think the game, and the creators of the game, are really looking at the cost of war, the cost of having to be a warrior who's, for whatever reason, chosen to put himself between real danger and the rest of us, and the burden that these guys carry."

Berg further noted that the movie is not designed as mindless entertainment. "And that's real stuff," the director added. "This is not just 'Hey, let's shoot them all up and shoot popcorn!' Like, there's a soul underneath it, that I understand that Taylor Sheridan understands."

As noted by The Olympian, Berg used the junket to compare the tonal weight of his two military projects. While he anticipates that Call of Duty will probably not be quite as graphically violent as The Mosquito Bowl, he maintained that the video game adaptation will still carry a strong emotional core focused on the consequence of war.

The Taylor Sheridan Partnership and Franchise History

To translate the first-person shooter series to the big screen, Paramount paired Berg with Sheridan, the prolific writer behind military and espionage thrillers such as Sicario, Without Remorse, and the Paramount+ series Lioness. Earlier this year at CinemaCon, Berg highlighted their shared background, noting that "Taylor and I are both deeply connected to the special ops community." That CinemaCon presentation also featured a sizzle reel showcasing the gaming juggernaut's commercial reach, which includes 1 billion players and a lifetime revenue of $35 billion.

According to Polygon, Activision has explored bringing Call of Duty to theaters for more than a decade. In 2015, the publisher established Activision Blizzard Studios with plans to build a cinematic universe around the property, at one point attaching Sicario: Day of the Soldado director Stefano Sollima. However, the project remained in development limbo until Paramount and Activision officially announced a new film pact in September 2025. While the agreement currently centers on a single feature film, sources indicated at the time of the announcement that the deal includes the potential to expand the universe across both film and television.

At the time of the 2025 announcement, Activision President Rob Kostich stated that the adaptation would "honor and expand upon what has made this franchise great in the first place," adding that the shared goal with Paramount was "to create an unforgettable blockbuster movie experience that our community loves, and one that also excites and inspires new fans of the franchise."

An Evolving Perspective on Video Games

The upcoming movie draws directly from the Modern Warfare branch of the franchise, which first broke away from the series' traditional World War II roots with the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007. The sub-series, featuring Task Force 141 operatives, recently expanded with the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which concluded the reboot story started by Activision and developer Infinity Ward.

For Berg, praising the narrative depth of the Modern Warfare games marks a notable shift from his past public stance on gaming. As IGN pointed out, the director criticized war-themed video games back in 2013, calling them "pathetic" and referring to the hobby as "keyboard courage." At the time, Berg stated, "I think anyone that sits around playing video games for four hours... It's weak. Get out, do something."

More than a decade later, Berg's assessment of the medium has clearly warmed as he prepares to transition from completing The Mosquito Bowl into active preparation on Call of Duty. Meanwhile, industry observers note that the franchise itself has long walked a fine line between blockbuster spectacle and gritty realism. Kotaku observed that Call of Duty marketing has historically alternated between over-the-top military action and morally gray realism, such as the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the film adapt a specific Modern Warfare campaign, or tell an original story within that setting?

While reporting from IGN and Polygon confirms that the movie draws inspiration from the Modern Warfare portion of the Call of Duty universe, Paramount and Activision have not disclosed an official plot. Available coverage does not establish whether Berg and Sheridan are adapting a specific game installment or crafting an original storyline within that continuity.

Which characters from the games will appear, and who will portray them?

No casting announcements or official character lineups have been revealed. Although Berg specifically named Modern Warfare characters Captain Price, Soap, Ghost, and Alex as examples of nuanced figures within the games, those remarks describe the franchise's tone rather than confirming their direct inclusion in the screenplay.

How will the filmmakers balance realistic consequences of combat with the franchise's large-scale action?

Berg acknowledged that the property includes violence, military hardware, and combat, but stressed that he and co-writer Taylor Sheridan are focusing on the psychological burden carried by special operations soldiers. The director indicated the film will likely be less graphically violent than his World War II film The Mosquito Bowl while still emphasizing the emotional toll of combat.

When will the Call of Duty movie be released in theaters?

Paramount Pictures currently has the Call of Duty movie scheduled for theatrical release on June 30, 2028.

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