Alex Garland Went All Out to Pitch His ‘Elden Ring’ Movie

A live-action movie based on Elden Ring is officially in the works, and now we know how the project came together.

The film was announced in May 2025 and is being made by A24 in partnership with Bandai Namco. Alex Garland, the filmmaker behind Ex Machina and Annihilation, has been chosen to both direct and write the script. The production team includes Peter Rice, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, George R.R. Martin, and Vince Gerardis.

In a recent interview with The New Yorker, new details were shared about how Garland pitched the idea.

Years ago, he reached out to A24 while showing his passion for the game. When A24’s Daniel Sacco visited him in London, Garland explained how much he admired Elden Ring and even showed it off on his PlayStation. Sacco was impressed and immediately gave his support, telling Garland, “F*** yeah.”

But getting approval from A24 wasn’t the only step. Garland still needed the blessing of Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game’s creator and president of FromSoftware.

To win him over, Garland decided to take on the challenge of writing a script on his own. He produced a massive draft that ran 160 pages, along with 40 extra pages of artwork and visual ideas to show how the world could be adapted for film. With all of this prepared, Garland and Sacco flew to Japan to personally pitch the project to Miyazaki and Bandai Namco. That meeting secured the agreement to move forward with the film.

This is not the first time A24 has stepped into the video game world. The studio is also working on a movie based on Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding. According to Sacco, both Kojima and Miyazaki are treated as auteurs within the gaming industry, and he even joked that his first question for Kojima was, “Are you sure you don’t want to direct?”

For those who don’t know, Elden Ring is an open-world action role-playing game released in 2022 by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco. The game was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, with worldbuilding contributions from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

Players take on the role of a character known as the Tarnished, exploring a massive fantasy land called the Lands Between, facing dangerous enemies and uncovering secrets. The game was a huge hit, selling over 25 million copies and winning Game of the Year in 2022.

Garland’s dedication shows just how much this project means to him. Writing such a long script and creating visuals before even securing approval is a bold move, but it clearly paid off.

With A24 involved and Miyazaki on board, this could turn into one of the biggest video game adaptations yet. What about you, are you excited to see Elden Ring turned into a movie? Share your thoughts in the comments.