Paramount and Activision's highly anticipated Call of Duty movie now has an official setting, and it's the one most fans were hoping for. The film adaptation will take place in the Modern Warfare universe, one of the video game franchise's most popular sub-series.
Director and co-writer Peter Berg made the announcement at Fanatics Fest in New York City this past Saturday. As previously announced, screenwriting duties is being shared by Taylor Sheridan, the man behind the Yellowstone universe, Landman, Lioness, and what feels like half of modern television at this point.
Berg brings plenty of relevant experience to the project as well with directing credits that include Friday Night Lights, Battleship, Lone Survivor, and Deepwater Horizon.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare launched back on November 5, 2007 and completely reshaped the franchise's identity. It was the first game to ditch the World War II backdrop that had defined earlier entries in favor of a modern-day setting.
The campaign put players in the boots of two soldiers, U.S. Marine Paul Jackson and British SAS operative John "Soap" MacTavish, each of which had their own perspective on a fictional global crisis unfolding in 2011. On one front, Russia is thrown into civil war as ultranationalist forces led by Imran Zakhaev fight to drag the country back to its Soviet-era glory. On another, a separatist faction stages a coup and takes over a Middle Eastern nation.
The game was a huge success and kicked off two direct sequels, making Modern Warfare the face of Call of Duty for years to come.
A soft reboot, simply titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released in October 2019. It came with a new engine, a visual overhaul and a darker, more grounded retelling of the original story while keeping the same core identity intact. That reboot also spun off two more sequels, Modern Warfare II in 2022 and Modern Warfare III in 2023.
Given the incredible success of the sub-series, it's no surprise that it will serve as the primary setting of the film. However, it's still unclear Berg and Sheridan plan to adapt the Modern Warfare storyline beat for beat or simply use the setting as a jumping-off point for an original story.
Activision's Rob Kostich touched on the project back in April at CinemaCon, explaining the studio's approach to finally bringing the franchise to film.
"I told everyone we were only going to make a movie if it's right. In David Ellison, we found that partnership," he said. "We want to make sure that the authenticity of it is captured on a human level so that it feels really real and infuse that with epic scope."
The Call of Duty movie is currently set to hit theaters on June 30, 2028, lining up with the video game franchise's 25th anniversary.