Dwayne Johnson Almost Starred in a Hard R Adaptation of SAINTS ROW with Dan Trachtenberg at the Helm
With Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell, and several more video game movies currently in development, it's proof that Hollywood has shifted their attention to video game adaptations in hopes that they finally figure out how to make great films out of them. Only time will tell if they succeed.
Turns out there was a feature film adaptation of Saints Row that was in development from video game developer THQ. They had a "strong script" written by Peter Aperlo (Watchman: The End is Nigh, 300: March to Glory) with producers Lloyd Levin (Boogie Nights, Watchmen, United 93), and Andrew Cosby (Haunted, Eureka, 2 Guns) leading the charge.
This was being developed as a hard R adaptation, which is what you'd expect from Saints Row, and Dwayne Johnson was interested in starring in it. They were also looking to bring on 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg to helm the film. According to Fandom, the film "felt like a modern-day Escape from New York, only bigger and with that Saints Row attitude."
Aperlo opened up about the film in an interview with the site and revealed all kinds of details. He talked about his approach to the film explaining:
"The first treatment had a new character initiated into the Saints via a reality show, a sort of urban Survivor with real bullets. (I believe I even had Jeff Probst get his head blown off at one point.) New gangs were moving into town, and the character was joining up to get revenge for the death of Carlos in SRII, thinking the Boss was responsible. Anyway, the producers liked it but felt we needed to go back to more of an origin story to get an audience used to the Saints and what the franchise would become.
"So, our plot ended up hitting a lot of the same notes as SRII, with the Boss as a Count of Monte Cristo figure coming in to reclaim what was once his. Throw into the mix Dane Vogel wanting to convert a chunk of Stilwater into a private prison (something that’s still relevant today) and a lot of over-the-top action and darkly humorous social commentary (a la the original RoboCop), and that was essentially our SR."
He then went on to reveal that Johnson wanted to be a part of the project and star in the film, but the hard R rating proved to be a problem. The screenwriter explained:
"Dwayne Johnson was very interested at one point. One of the worries, for me anyway, of having a big star like that, was that we’d have to tone things down. This was going to be hard R, balls to the walls. Sure enough, I was asked to prepare a draft that was PG-13. Soften the violence, no nudity, only one “f***” allowed. If you’ve played the game, you’ll know how hard that would be and still keep it SR. I couldn’t even use the “Phuc Mi Phuc Yue” Vietnamese Seafood sign I wanted to have!
"In the end, they couldn’t get anyone to bite and THQ imploded soon after. The IP got sold off and the new owners didn’t seem interested in making a movie. It was frustrating because the process was so fun, to be immersed in that world of larger-than-life gangstas and corrupt corporate tools. A little cartoony, sure, but we had something to say, and this was one movie that I really wanted to see up on the big screen."
It sounds like they had a good handle on what they wanted to see in this movie. It's a shame that this version of the film will never happen now. With this kind of talent, this Saints Row movie could have been badass.
Below you'll find some concept art for the film that was created by Clay Staub.
Via: CinemaBlend