Yesterday I saw the news that John Cena is in talks to play Duke Nukem in
a film version of the popular game character. At first I was not sure what
to think as without a writer or Director in place it does not seem like
this has much traction at the moment.
I may be cynical but I have seen John Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren,
and The Rock all touted as playing the character in a movie and nothing
ever came to fruition.
Combine that with the less than stellar reviews and
response to the long-delayed Duke Nukem: Forever and one has to wonder why
this would happen now to a character that has sadly become an afterthought
for the better part of the last fifteen years.
Duke did make a surprise appearance in Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition as
players could play the amazing campaign as Duke or opt to play the
character in the online version of the game.
Gearbox has been fairly
quiet of late and many expect that they are working on a new Borderlands
game as we have seen a few things to indicate that is the case such as
potential concept art and so on.
However it may not be completely crazy to think that a new Duke project
may be in the works.
Hollywood is always one to look for something to
attach themselves to and it seems interesting to me that they would look
to make a Duke movie now when the profile for the character is at a low
point. Perhaps they are banking on a new, and much better Duke game coming
out and are hoping to time the release of a film to take advantage of
this.
Since Duke has made an appearance in another franchise recently, would it
be insane to say that Duke could show up in the Borderlands Universe? I
know many would find this an odd place to put him but seeing as over the
top action is a staple of the franchise; it may be a great place to ease
him back into the mainstream by making him a playable or even NPC
character.
Regardless of what the future holds, Duke does have a special place in the
hearts of many gamers, we just want a new and quality outing for our
favorite hero.
