The news broke late last year that Fast and Furious and Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin had been enlisted to helm a big-screen adaptation of Arrowhead Game Studios' popular shooter, Helldivers, and the project has now found its lead.
THR reports that Jason Momoa (Wrecking Crew) has signed on to star, but there are no details on his role. There's a chance he'll play Xavier Rodriguez, aka X, from the Hell Divers book series, but it's just as likely that his character was created for this movie.
Momoa has appeared in a number of major studio blockbusters over the past few years, including Dune, Aquaman and its sequel, A Minecraft Movie, and Fast X. He is set to make his DCU debut as Lobo in Supergirl later this year.
While reporting on the initial movie announcement last year, THR noted that "Lin is not a gamer and leaned into that as a strength when pitching his take on the material, said insiders. He aims to find the humanity in the characters and weave timely themes into the story, while building out a world and mythology. There are plenty of details waiting to be drawn in, something that is compelling to the filmmaker."
Plot details are still under wraps, but the game follows an elite unit of soldiers — known as Helldivers — who battle alien creatures that are threatening to destroy the fictional planet of Super Earth. The first game launched in 2015 and was followed by a 2024 sequel, which sold over 12 million units.
The movie has set a theatrical release date of November 10, 2027.
"When mankind ventured into space, we were curious to see if anything loomed behind those stars; unfortunately, we were right. The initial contacts were peaceful, but soon the people of Super Earth realized the potential danger of communicating with alien species, and before we knew it, they started our first intergalactic war. For 40 years, the war has raged on, a conflict whereby three hostile alien species are hell-bent on a single goal: the total annihilation of the human species.
Luckily, the fighting spirit of man has not decayed since the last great war on Earth. We are now stronger than ever; man, woman and child alike are encouraged to try their strengths in the ultimate test - to have the courage to defend Super Earth."