A Helldivers 2 film adaptation is currently in the early stages of development at Sony. But will it live up to the cult classic Starship Troopers?
Sony unveils surprising news: Helldivers 2 is getting a movie adaptation! At its own CES 2025 press conference, the production company announced plans for a theatrical debut.
However, the project is currently still in its infancy and no details are yet known about the direction, cast or theatrical release. In fact, the popular shooter is already a homage to a popular sci-fi film from the 1990s: Starship Troopers.
First reactions to Sony’s plans
In the comments, fans also recall the legendary classic Starship Troopers Some some insist that the film adaptation is not necessary due to the similarity.Nevertheless, there are also fans who are obviously pleased. Here are a few examples from platform X (formerly Twitter):
- “There is already Starship Troopers.” – User Xenny47
- “If they get Paul Verhoeven [director of Starship Troopers], it will be pure cinema. Or they could just make a new Starship Troopers that perfectly captures the spirit of the original films.” – User
- “It’s like Starship Troopers again. And I’m not complaining!!!“ – User lucianosrebalo
- ”So a Starship Troopers remake, renamed Helldivers” – User errljonesiii
The parallels to Starship Troopers
The cult classic was released in 1997 and directed by Paul Verhoeven. The now 86-year-old filmmaker is also known for other popular sci-fi projects such as RoboCop and Total Recall. With an estimated budget of $100 million, Starship Troopers only took in $121.2 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo) and only in the following years did it become a cult film.
The work is deeply satirical and criticizes US politics of the time. Many elements, such as the exaggerated interpretation of democracy or the apparent glorification of war, have been adopted by the shooter.
An obvious reference to the cult classic can also be found in Helldivers 2 in the enemies. In Starship Troopers, the infantry fights against the so-called “bugs”. In Helldivers 2, the player also tries to kill oversized insects.
Fans of Helldivers 2 are well aware of the parallels to Starship Troopers. Shortly after its release in February, the video game helped the sci-fi work to a renewed high.
By the way: A reboot of Starship Troopers was announced in 2016 – but that was the last anyone heard of it. Since then, it’s been suspiciously quiet around the project. Maybe because even the director of the original, Paul Verhoeven, was not exactly enthusiastic about the idea at the time (via Slashfilm).
Helldivers 2 is not the only video game that Sony wants to turn into a movie, by the way. Horizon Zero Dawn will also be released in cinemas, while Ghost of Tsushima is to be released as an anime.
A live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese action adventure was already announced in 2021. Chad Stahelski, who is known, among other things, for his involvement in the John Wick universe, is set to direct. However, we still don’t know when or if the project will be released.
