As reported by Variety, Sony Pictures is developing an R-rated animated feature film based on Bloodborne. The announcement came during Sony’s CinemaCon presentation, where Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, promised the film will stay true to the brutal spirit of FromSoftware’s gothic horror classic.
Bloodborne, originally developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, has been one of the most requested PlayStation franchises for any kind of follow-up, whether that’s a sequel, remaster, or PC port. Instead, what fans are getting first is a movie. The film is being co-produced by PlayStation Productions, Lyrical Animation, and content creator Seán McLoughlin, better known as JackSepticEye, who has spent years playing Bloodborne for his over 48 million online fans. Lyrical Media, the parent company of Lyrical Animation, is co-financing the project alongside Sony Pictures.
Going the animated route with an R rating feels like the right call for Bloodborne. The game’s nightmarish world of Yharnam, filled with deranged mobs, cosmic horrors, and grotesque creature designs, would be difficult to capture properly in live action without an enormous budget. An animated film gives the creative team more freedom to lean into the game’s gothic atmosphere and visceral combat without the limitations of practical effects or CGI budgets.
Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions have been busy on the video game adaptation front. The studio also recently announced a Helldivers film directed by Justin Lin and starring Jason Momoa, and has wrapped filming on a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie, though that’s a Nintendo property rather than a PlayStation one. Between those projects and the continued success of video game movies at the box office, Sony is clearly betting big on gaming IP as a pillar of its film slate.
No release date, director, or additional cast details have been announced for the Bloodborne film yet.
