15 Hollywood Directors Who Helped Develop Video Games

Toonacious Published 04/28/2021 in ftw

Video game developers have been enlisting the talents of Hollywood directors for decades.

We talk often about how 'Hollywood' games have become, and while Hollywood is actually investing in gaming IP for the big screen, here are some high-profile directors who have done work on the small screen.

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1. F.E.A.R. 3 (John Carpenter) - John Howard Carpenter's work in the genre of horror and science fiction is definitely worth a look. He’s the man who’s played a big role in cult classics such as Halloween and The Thing. So it’s understandable why he was chosen to be a part of F.E.A.R. 3. He’s responsible for game cinematics and assisting writer Steve Niles.
2. Ghost Recon Wildlands (John McTiernan) - John McTiernan is an action veteran best known for his Predator and Die Hard work. That’s why he was handpicked to build a short film on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands. "The Red Dot” short was released online to help promote the open-world military shooter.
3. Need for Speed: The Run (Michael Bay) - From Bad Boys & Armageddon to Transformers and Ninja Turtles, Michael Bay has been an essential part of many action movies. This is why EA hired the man to build a trailer for their action racing game, Need for Speed: The Run.
4. Spyjinx (J. J. Abrams) - Most people know J.J. Abrams as a film director best known for his work in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Armageddon, and Cloverfield. But not many know that J.J is collaborating with Bad Robot Productions and Chair Entertainment, building a role-playing strategy-based multiplayer game called Spyjinx. The Epic Games title is set to be released soon and will be making its way to mobiles.
5. P.T. (Guillermo Del Toro) - Guillermo Del Toro returns with yet another game and, this time, a horror one. The canceled Silent Hills was meant to be created by Kojima and Del Toro before it was canned due to Kojima’s exit from Konami. What players were left with was P.T., a playable teaser created by the brilliant mind of Del Toro.
6. Dark Souls III (Eli Roth) - The director known for some of the darkest movies, such as Hostel and Cabin Fever, was the perfect choice to direct the trailer for Dark Souls III. Eli Roth is also working on a Borderlands film that will release soon.
7. Halo 3: ODST (Rupert Sanders) - Bungie has vigorously called in film directors to work on Halo’s trailers. And one of those directors is Rupert Sanders. The man behind the Ghost in the Shell movie.
8. NBA 2K16 (Spike Lee) - The 63-years-old American film director Spike Lee knows a lot about real writing. He has created movies such as Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X. So it’s no wonder he directed the story mode for NBA 2K16, giving it a very polished feel. No wonder many consider it to be the high point of storytelling in N.B.A. games. After all, Spike Lee has directed it all.
9. Halo 3, Gears of War, DOOM & Destiny (Joseph Kosinski) - Since Joseph Kosinski is best known for his work in Oblivion, Tron, and the upcoming Top Gun, it should be no surprise why he was involved in creating the trailers for Doom, Gears, Halo and Destiny. After all, it’s pretty much his style.
10. Outlast (J. T. Petty) - J. T. Petty has done some amazing stuff in the horror genre. He is known for his work in movies such as The House of the Devil, Hellbenders, and The Burrowers. However, the one fact that isn’t much known is that he has written the entire Outlast franchise. That’s right, the viral horror game that helped countless YouTubers grow is actually the work of a movie director.
11. Dead Space (James Wan) - The Malaysian–Australian director, is super popular for films such as Insidious and The Conjuring. So no wonder that EA called him to direct and create the trailer for Dead Space. Sadly, he only had to work with in-game footage for this one, which had its creative limitations.
12. Halo 4 & DC Universe Online (Tim Miller) - Tim Miller directed Dead Pool, so it’s a given that he must be called in to create a trailer for a game like DC Universe Online. The Terminator director has also been spawned to create a trailer for Halo 4.
13. Medal Of Honor (Steven Spielberg) - Almost everyone knows about Steven Spielberg since he’s the man behind Indiana Jones, E.T., and Jurassic Park. But it’s probably Saving Private Ryan that drove him to get involved in video games. Steven Spielberg has created EA’s classic Medal of Honor series, which is perhaps one big reason why it remains one of the most defining military shooters of all time.
14. Death Stranding (Guillermo Del Toro) - The Mexican filmmaker’s journey to direction is truly an inspirational one. From Hellboy to The Hobbit series, Del Toro has created many films that belong to different genres. To surprise, his work in Death Stranding is rather unrelated. Del Toro plays the in-game character, Deadman.
15. Death Stranding (Edgar Wright) - Who would’ve known that the man best known for his jump cuts and movies such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End will end up in Death Stranding. Edgar plays a character known as Thomas Southerland in the game but is voiced by someone else for some reason.

1. F.E.A.R. 3 (John Carpenter) - John Howard Carpenter's work in the genre of horror and science fiction is definitely worth a look. He’s the man who’s played a big role in cult classics such as Halloween and The Thing. So it’s understandable why he was chosen to be a part of F.E.A.R. 3. He’s responsible for game cinematics and assisting writer Steve Niles.
2. Ghost Recon Wildlands (John McTiernan) - John McTiernan is an action veteran best known for his Predator and Die Hard work. That’s why he was handpicked to build a short film on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands. "The Red Dot” short was released online to help promote the open-world military shooter.
3. Need for Speed: The Run (Michael Bay) - From Bad Boys & Armageddon to Transformers and Ninja Turtles, Michael Bay has been an essential part of many action movies. This is why EA hired the man to build a trailer for their action racing game, Need for Speed: The Run.
4. Spyjinx (J. J. Abrams) - Most people know J.J. Abrams as a film director best known for his work in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Armageddon, and Cloverfield. But not many know that J.J is collaborating with Bad Robot Productions and Chair Entertainment, building a role-playing strategy-based multiplayer game called Spyjinx. The Epic Games title is set to be released soon and will be making its way to mobiles.
5. P.T. (Guillermo Del Toro) - Guillermo Del Toro returns with yet another game and, this time, a horror one. The canceled Silent Hills was meant to be created by Kojima and Del Toro before it was canned due to Kojima’s exit from Konami. What players were left with was P.T., a playable teaser created by the brilliant mind of Del Toro.
6. Dark Souls III (Eli Roth) - The director known for some of the darkest movies, such as Hostel and Cabin Fever, was the perfect choice to direct the trailer for Dark Souls III. Eli Roth is also working on a Borderlands film that will release soon.
7. Halo 3: ODST (Rupert Sanders) - Bungie has vigorously called in film directors to work on Halo’s trailers. And one of those directors is Rupert Sanders. The man behind the Ghost in the Shell movie.
8. NBA 2K16 (Spike Lee) - The 63-years-old American film director Spike Lee knows a lot about real writing. He has created movies such as Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X. So it’s no wonder he directed the story mode for NBA 2K16, giving it a very polished feel. No wonder many consider it to be the high point of storytelling in N.B.A. games. After all, Spike Lee has directed it all.
9. Halo 3, Gears of War, DOOM & Destiny (Joseph Kosinski) - Since Joseph Kosinski is best known for his work in Oblivion, Tron, and the upcoming Top Gun, it should be no surprise why he was involved in creating the trailers for Doom, Gears, Halo and Destiny. After all, it’s pretty much his style.
10. Outlast (J. T. Petty) - J. T. Petty has done some amazing stuff in the horror genre. He is known for his work in movies such as The House of the Devil, Hellbenders, and The Burrowers. However, the one fact that isn’t much known is that he has written the entire Outlast franchise. That’s right, the viral horror game that helped countless YouTubers grow is actually the work of a movie director.
11. Dead Space (James Wan) - The Malaysian–Australian director, is super popular for films such as Insidious and The Conjuring. So no wonder that EA called him to direct and create the trailer for Dead Space. Sadly, he only had to work with in-game footage for this one, which had its creative limitations.
12. Halo 4 & DC Universe Online (Tim Miller) - Tim Miller directed Dead Pool, so it’s a given that he must be called in to create a trailer for a game like DC Universe Online. The Terminator director has also been spawned to create a trailer for Halo 4.
13. Medal Of Honor (Steven Spielberg) - Almost everyone knows about Steven Spielberg since he’s the man behind Indiana Jones, E.T., and Jurassic Park. But it’s probably Saving Private Ryan that drove him to get involved in video games. Steven Spielberg has created EA’s classic Medal of Honor series, which is perhaps one big reason why it remains one of the most defining military shooters of all time.
14. Death Stranding (Guillermo Del Toro) - The Mexican filmmaker’s journey to direction is truly an inspirational one. From Hellboy to The Hobbit series, Del Toro has created many films that belong to different genres. To surprise, his work in Death Stranding is rather unrelated. Del Toro plays the in-game character, Deadman.
15. Death Stranding (Edgar Wright) - Who would’ve known that the man best known for his jump cuts and movies such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End will end up in Death Stranding. Edgar plays a character known as Thomas Southerland in the game but is voiced by someone else for some reason.

Hollywood Directors Video Games -- F.E.A.R. 3 (John Carpenter)

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F.E.A.R. 3 (John Carpenter) - John Howard Carpenter's work in the genre of horror and science fiction is definitely worth a look. He’s the man who’s played a big role in cult classics such as Halloween and The Thing. So it’s understandable why he was chosen to be a part of F.E.A.R. 3. He’s responsible for game cinematics and assisting writer Steve Niles.

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