The new Doom movie now has an official title, synopsis, and a fall 2019 release date. It’s been almost fifteen years since the last feature length Doom film arrived. Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 2005’s Doom was not quite what most Doom fans had been hoping for, and the sci-fi action/horror film was a huge box office flop, bringing in only $15 million globally on a $60 million budget.
Such a poor performance was odd for the franchise, which had grown considerably since its introduction as a first person shooter game for IBM-compatible computers in 1993. The game spawned a variety of books, comic books, spinoffs, and sequels in its quest to tell the tale of a space marine at war with demons and the undead. Given its beginnings and its somewhat iconic status as one of the first first person shooters to really make a mark on gamers, it’s not hard to believe that its greatest success as a franchise has come from game sales, which have seen Doom sell 10 million copies to date.
Though the 2005 film failed to connect with audiences, Dread Central has reported that Universal is giving the IP another chance, with Doom: Annihilation set for a fall 2019 release. The new film is not a sequel to its 2005 counterpart, and will instead be a straight-to-home video release. In addition to the title and release date information, there are also three new images to tide fans over until a trailer arrives at some point in the coming months. Check out the images below:
In terms of plot, Doom: Annihilation’s story doesn’t sound much different at all from its 2005 predecessor. Namely, a group of space marines respond to a distress call on a distant Martian moon, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives as they face hordes of demonic creatures. This familiar formula could spell relief for many Doom fans who wanted to see a second attempt at a live-action adaption of their beloved FPS. That being said, video games have had a notoriously difficult time making the switch to film adaptations, and Doom’s path feels as though it has even more hurdles to surpass this time around, given its past failures as a film.
In a time where streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu rule the way in which films are distributed, being released direct to home video feels a bit out of touch. It’s understandable why Universal would be nervous trying to get another Doom adaptation off the ground, but this film already feels like it isn’t being given a fair chance for success. Doom’s concept has kept gamers fascinated for decades, which is evidence in itself that there is something entertaining there - it just needs to be handled correctly. Unfortunately for Doom fans, if Doom: Annihilation doesn’t find success, it could be a very long time before the franchise gets another chance at showing off what it has to offer.
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Source: Dread Central
