Has The Last Guardian Been Abandoned?

As of August 6th of this year, Sony has apparently let Team Ico’s The Last Guardian trademark fall into disuse with Trademarkia and a few other outlets stating the title is listed as “ABANDONED - NO STATEMENT OF USE FILED.”

Supposed to be the spiritual successor to the studio’s previous two critically acclaimed games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Team Ico’s Last Guardian was announced back in 2009, briefly appearing before the public and having spent more time gestating in the dark (it’s missed both last year’s Tokyo Game Show and this year’s E3 despite Sony’s assurance the game was chugging along).  Production suffered its biggest blow when the loosely linked trilogy’s creator, Fumito Ueda, departed the studio, slowing the game’s progress.

Now, just because the trademark’s filing status has changed (negatively, in this case), that doesn’t necessarily mean the title is officially cancelled.  Sony’s only willing to comment to the point that they “don’t comment on speculation.”  The Last Guardian’s status is definitely up in the air, no doubt, but we’ll keep you posted if this one goes from “critical” to “feet up.”

UPDATE: Sony reached out to Game Informer’s own Jim Reilly with these silky, comforting words: “The project is still in development. Nothing new to report at this time.”  Okay, I lied about the comforting part.  I guess that’s a more satisfying status update than “stick a fork in her.”  But not by much.

Need for Speed and Shadow of the Colossus Films Moving Forward with New Directors

There was a time in the film industry where a video game adaptation was a surefire way to get a producer fired and a screenwriter slapped.  Now, with the advent of cash cows such as the five flick Resident Evil franchise, Hollywood knows there’s green oil to be mined from video games (especially when the films can be cheaply pumped out at around $40 million and see a return of $150 million or more much like the RE franchise).

Modeled after the Fast and the Furious series for an easy in, EA’s Need for Speed is riding into theaters thanks to DreamWorks.  The studio currently looks to hire Act of Valor co-director Scott Waugh to bring the racing title to the big screen, based upon a script penned by George Gatins.  Being as it is that the games never truly cling to an established story thread, it’ll be easy for Waugh and company to project whatever cookie-cutter narrative they want as long as the Need for Speed name is attached (i.e. terrifically boring shit).

The monumentally more intriguing game adaptation would be Sony’s attempt to put Team Ico’s Shadow of the Colossus on the screen.  The ball got rolling on Colossus back in 2009 when Sony first conceived the notion of a movie, but the project sat in place, gathering moss for some time.  After the success of the HD re-release, though, it seems the film has gained some new traction with the recent enlistment of up-and-comer Josh Trank as director, fresh off of his hit superhero biopic Chronicle.

Neither Trank nor Sony have indicated how they intend to bring the Colossi to the screen (whether it all be CGI or live-action or, considering Trank’s resume, shot as found-footage is up in the air) but the two parties have confirmed that they’re actively shopping around for a screenwriter to shape the story.