Peter Berg Says His ‘Call of Duty’ Movie Will Explore the True Cost of Being a Warrior

Hollywood has spent the last few years proving that video game adaptations can be big business. ‘Super Mario Bros.’ and ‘A Minecraft Movie’ have both turned game franchises into theatrical blockbusters. Yet one of the best-selling game series on the planet has never had a major live-action movie.

That is about to change. Paramount and Activision signed a deal in September 2025 to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to the big screen, and the pact is focused on 1 film with the potential to expand across movies and TV. Director Peter Berg (‘Lone Survivor’, ‘Deepwater Horizon’) is co-writing alongside Taylor Sheridan, the creator behind ‘Yellowstone’, ‘Landman’ and ‘Lioness’.

Now Berg has offered the clearest hint yet about what kind of war movie this will be. Speaking in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com during the press tour for his World War II drama ‘The Mosquito Bowl’, he said the film will center on “the cost of having to be a warrior.” He acknowledged the series has its share of violence, hardware and killing, but argued that something deeper sits beneath it.

Berg pointed to the Modern Warfare storylines as the film’s inspiration, praising characters like Captain Price, Soap, Ghost and Alex. In his view, they are layered people rather than comic book figures, and he stressed that he doesn’t mean that as disrespect. He described the Modern Warfare universe as having a real soul.

His pitch is that the games, and the people who make them, are really examining the burden carried by those who step between danger and everyone else. That framing positions the film as a character-driven war story rather than a straight popcorn shooter. It also fits with Berg’s broader comments that the film will carry a strong sense of consequence, with the working title “duty” attached to that idea.

Berg also offered a tonal comparison. He said he expects ‘Call of Duty’ to be less graphically violent than ‘The Mosquito Bowl’, which is set to premiere later this month. He added that he believes Sheridan shares his understanding of the emotional core underneath the action.

He said his vision for the game adaptation will start taking shape once that earlier release is out. For fans who worried a Hollywood version might sand down the series’ edge, the comments suggest the filmmakers want authenticity first. At CinemaCon, Berg said he and Sheridan are both connected to the special ops community and want to ground the story on a human level while still delivering scale.

The movie has a firm date. Paramount announced at CinemaCon in April that ‘Call of Duty’ will arrive in theaters on June 30, 2028, a release that coincides with the 25th anniversary of the franchise’s debut in 2003. The studio has also confirmed Berg, Sheridan, David Glasser and Rob Kostich as producers.

In July, Berg confirmed during Fanatics Fest in New York City that the story will be set in the Modern Warfare universe. That choice draws on the modern-era games that followed the series’ early WWII entries. It also gives the film access to a deep bench of recognizable characters from Task Force 141.

Plot details and cast have not been revealed. The franchise spans more than 30 mainline games, and Activision is backed by Microsoft, so the project carries a lot of expectation. Berg’s latest comments suggest the filmmakers are aiming for emotional weight as much as spectacle.

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