Karl Urban has joined the growing list of Hollywood actors lobbying for a Red Dead Redemption film adaptation, and he's already picked his dream role.
The actor, known for his work in The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, The Boys, and Dredd, revealed his interest during an interview with Square Mile. When asked about video game adaptations he'd like to star in beyond his upcoming role in Mortal Kombat 2, Urban didn't hesitate.
"Red Dead Redemption is one of my favourites," Urban said. "Red Dead is a fantastic game."
He acknowledged that his relationship with gaming came later in life. "I didn't really have too much of an opportunity to get that heavily invested in the gaming culture," Urban explained, noting that when consoles first emerged in 1994, he was an unemployed actor in Sydney without the means to purchase one. By the time he could afford gaming equipment, his demanding film career left little room for it.
Still, whenever the opportunity arose, Urban found himself drawn to Red Dead. "From time to time, when I did get the rare opportunity, Red Dead was certainly one of the games that spoke to me," he said.
The specific character Urban covets is John Marston, the former outlaw protagonist of the original 2010 Red Dead Redemption who returns as a secondary character in 2018's sequel. Marston's arc centers on his struggle to leave violence behind while protecting his family, even as federal agents force him to hunt down former members of his old gang.
"I mean, come on, John Marston! I'd love to play that character," Urban said.
Urban joins Jack Black in publicly campaigning for a Red Dead movie, though Black himself expressed skepticism about Rockstar ever allowing such a project to happen.
The Studio's Cold Shoulder
Reality may dampen Urban's enthusiasm. Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have given no indication they're interested in licensing their properties to Hollywood. The studio has maintained this stance even regarding Grand Theft Auto, another potential goldmine for filmmakers.
In 2024, Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar and the company's former head writer, explained the reasoning. When film executives pitched a Grand Theft Auto movie, Rockstar leadership rejected the concept outright.
"Why would we do this?" Houser recalled asking. "What you've described is you making a movie and us having no control and taking a huge risk, that we're going to end up paying for with something that belongs to us."
Houser emphasized that Rockstar viewed its gaming franchises as billion-dollar intellectual property that would be reckless to entrust to external filmmakers. "They thought we'd be blinded by the lights and that just wasn't the case," he said. "We had what we considered to be multi billion dollar IP, and the economics never made sense. The risk never made sense."
That protective stance suggests Urban's John Marston ambitions will likely remain just that: a fantasy.
Comments