In a new interview forNobody, screenwriterDerek Kolstadtalked to Collider about his approach to theJust Causemovie based on the popular video game, including how he views the game’s hero and his daring story as “Indiana Jones by way of [James] Bond.”
Just Causeis the rare video game that features a Latino lead – in this case, Rico Rodriguez, an agent of chaos who’s on a mission to stop the mercenary group known as The Black Hand. Kolstad isn’t just writing the script forJust Cause, but he’s also producing the movie with Constantin Film andAdrian Askarieh’sPrime Universe, which have tappedMichael Dowseto direct.
Kolstad told Collider that in the “next couple of weeks, I think there will be a casting announcement and there will be a general overlay as to where we stand.” TheJohn Wickcreator also sounded excited about working with Dowse, whose credits includeStuberandGoon.
“What I love about it is, a lot of times, when you adapt video game IP, there’s either not enough to adapt, or way too much. And with [Dowse] it was like, ‘dude!’ You watch the trailer forJust Cause 4and you’re like, ‘I got it. I get it. Let’s go.’ And it’s a joy, man.”
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Kolstad has already finished the screenplay and Dowse has done his own pass on the script, but the screenwriter has been around the industry long enough to know by now that whoever signs on will no doubt want their own input to be considered, and their schedule will ultimately dictate when the movie heads into production.
Kolstad said the creative team is happy with where the script is right now, but “to be honest, everything changes in the next two weeks because of certain elements in regards to casting and timing and production and all that kind of stuff. But where we are right now, Dowse did a director’s pass and he’s got it rendered down to what he wants to shoot. But you know better than most that as soon as you cast, and as soon as you hire, people start picking at those cards and you’re like, ‘Eh, let’s open up a new deck and build it from the ground up.’ And yet, the core is there, and there are elements and structural things that justwon’tchange because we like them.”
Asked what will distinguish theJust Causemovie from other video game adaptations, most of which, to be honest, have not been successful, Kolstad said the most important thing is to stay true to the game and its lead character.
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“We stay with the character. I think that’s the big one. We have the action, we have the set pieces, we have the atmosphere, you have the bad guys, you have the toys, and all those things we love about the game, but we stick with the character. And he’s cool. And you care about him, and you want to see more of him. One of the characters lately that has been intriguing, more than most, has beenThe Mandalorianand the fact that you don’t see his face. It seems very simple, and yet you find him endearing for a murdering bounty hunter, right? And with this guy, it’s very much a hero’s journey. It’s an Indiana Jones by way of Bond. And that’s always the way they sold the games and why we played the games, but we meet him at a point where he is shifting gears. Do you up-shift or down-shift? And that’s where you love to see a character, and as a franchise progresses, you want to see that shift or slip. You want to build him up, break him down, and build him up again, and that guy is a fun one to do it with.”
Clearly, Kolstad and his fellow filmmakers have franchise hopes forJust Cause, which sounds good to me, because I’ve missed action movies over the past year. Maybe that’s why I liked the first episode ofThe Falcon and the Winter Soldieras much as I did. It was just cool to watch some stuff blow up again! Stay tuned to Collider to find out who will play Rico Rodriguez… and his female co-lead.
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