Alex Garland’s Elden Ring Film Should Capture the Essence of Fantasy Warfare

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So, let’s play fantasy director hire—if you had to pick someone to make an Elden Ring movie, who’s your go-to? Maybe Peter Jackson or Guillermo del Toro pop up first because, duh, fantasy legends. Or maybe Miguel Sapochnik catches your eye—I mean, he did give us those insane Game of Thrones battles, right? But hey, if you’re feeling artsy-fartsy, what about Robert Eggers, Yorgos Lanthimos, or Bong Joon Ho? They all dig the weird and surreal vibes, just like FromSoftware.

But here’s the plot twist—Alex Garland?! Yep, the guy behind Ex Machina and Annihilation. Doesn’t scream Elden Ring, does it? Yet, A24 thinks he’s the man for the job. And let’s be real, Garland’s not the type to just cash in a paycheck and half-ass it. So, I’m pretty curious how he’ll spin this one.

Elden Ring and Garland sounds like oil and water at a glance. Sci-fi and fantasy aren’t exactly twins. Garland’s stuff? It’s all plot and character talk, while FromSoftware? They love telling stories through crumbling ruins and jargon-filled item blurbs. Honestly, have you seen Civil War? People said it could use a good background story.

But, does his lack of fantasy work mean he can’t tackle it? Nah. Garland’s pulled some wild genre shifts before—Civil War and Annihilation are miles apart, yet here we are. Who’s to say he won’t surprise us again?

Even if it seems new, it’s not like Garland’s never done video game vibes. Fun fact: he’s a total gamer. Resident Evil gets a nod in 28 Days Later, and The Beach was practically a game scene—thanks, Matt Patches, for calling it Banjo-Kazooie with Leo DiCaprio. I’ll never unsee that.

And the real kicker? Elden Ring’s chaos might echo the desperate grit of Garland’s Warfare. Swap Iraq’s battlefields for Limgrave’s ruins or Caelid’s nasty red skies, and boom—you’ve got an Elden Ring movie that’s more about the struggle than the lore dump of Marika and Godrick.

Rumor has it, Garland might bring over Kit Connor from Warfare because, why not stick with what works? Kit’s already nailed that fear and angst… imagine that in Elden Ring’s brutal world. Feels like we’re headed for something filled with dread and maybe—just maybe—a glimmer of hope by the time the credits roll.

Elden Ring isn’t some superhero game where you smash through bosses with magic and flair. It’s this hard, punishing trek where you meet death, make it your buddy, and push through anyway. If Garland taps into that, captures that sweet, sweet agony of finally nailing a boss fight, we might just get something epic. Or at least, damn interesting. Here’s hoping it hits theaters on that high note.

Oh, and by the way, that’s just me throwing thoughts around. Tim Brinkhof here—I scribble about artsy stuff, history, whatever floats my boat, really. Written for a bunch of places like Vox and all that jazz. Cheers!