Taylor Sheridan is doing Paramount one last favor before he takes his talents over to NBCUniversal in 2029.
For years, there’s been rumors of Call of Duty – the best selling video game franchise – jumping into the live action space. With all of the other well-established brands like Transformers and Minecraft doing so (and cashing in), it only makes sense that Call of Duty would try their hand at a motion picture.
And they went and got just the right guy to do it.
For those non-gamers out there, Call of Duty is a first-person shooter that’s considered to be one of the most successful franchises in the history of video games. It’s held the title of “Best Selling Video Game Series” for close to two decades, and hundreds of millions of people play the game across the globe. That’s what you call a “built-in audience,” if I’m not mistaken.
Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg signed on to develop the movie late last year after Paramount gained the rights to the Call of Duty franchise. So now, the accomplished duo are co-writing what could be one of the most highly anticipated war movies of all time. Berg is set to direct the film – without Sheridan – though both will be producers on the film, along with David Glasser.
This isn’t the first time that Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg have teamed up. The two lifelong friends formerly brought to life Hell Or High Water and Wind River, and those were both acclaimed (the former was nominated for four Oscars). They’ll be looking for similar success when Call of Duty hits theaters a couple of years from now.
June 30, 2028 to be exact.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the interesting timing of that release. Paramount is set to distribute the live-action Call of Duty film, and it might be one of the last things that Taylor Sheridan does for the Paramount Skydance corporation before he moves on to his new media home.
In case you haven’t heard, Taylor Sheridan will be leaving his entertainment home of Paramount for a deal with NBCUniversal in the next couple of years. The creator, writer and director is expected to finish out his TV contract with Paramount (through the end of 2028) and then take his talents to NBC at the beginning of 2029.
Sources are saying that he’ll actually start making movies for NBC Universal at the beginning of 2027, and that the movie side of the deal will run for eight years. On the other hand, the overall deal that Sheridan has struck up with NBCUniversal to make TV shows will start on January 1, 2029, and will reportedly stretch five years… paying Taylor Sheridan somewhere around $1 billion to make 20-plus shows.
So it looks like Taylor Sheridan is going to deliver Paramount one last, big, theatrical hit before he switches teams. I’m sure Paramount would have preferred to keep the Yellowstone creator on their side…. but the blow of them parting ways will land much softer if Call of Duty rakes it in at the box office.
