The upcoming Call of Duty movie already had a tough mission: adapt one of the most popular—and most chaotic—video game franchises into a compelling film. Now, it's facing an unexpected firestorm before cameras even roll.
Director Peter Berg, who's set to helm the live-action adaptation from a script co-written by Taylor Sheridan (the mastermind behind Yellowstone and Mayor of Kingstown), is under fire after decade-old comments resurfaced online. In a 2012 Esquire interview, Berg didn't hold back when asked about war video games.
“Pathetic. Pathetic. Keyboard courage. Can’t stand it,” Berg said at the time. He added that the only people he'd give a pass to are actual military members: “They’re out there serving and they’re bored and they want to entertain themselves? Okay, maybe. Kids? Uh-uh.” He went on to say that anyone who plays video games for four hours is “weak” and should “get out, do something.”
While those remarks are over a decade old, their timing couldn't be worse. Berg was officially attached to direct the Call of Duty film earlier this month, with Sheridan co-writing. The pairing seemed promising on paper: Berg has directed military-adjacent hits like Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, while Sheridan has built a reputation for gritty, authentic storytelling in projects like Sicario and Hell or High Water.
Activision president Rob Kostich recently emphasized at CinemaCon that the goal is to capture the “authenticity” of the games on a human level, blending realism with epic scope. But Berg's past dismissal of the very audience the movie needs to attract has raised eyebrows. Fans are now questioning whether the film will respect the source material or treat it as a mere brand extension.
The pressure is mounting from another front as well. Rival franchise Battlefield is also getting a movie treatment, with Mission: Impossible – Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie attached and Michael B. Jordan reportedly in talks. That means Call of Duty isn't just competing against other video game adaptations—it's vying to be the first major big-screen military shooter hit in a new wave of genre films.
Berg hasn't publicly addressed the resurfaced comments, and it's possible his views have evolved over the past decade. But for a project that already faced an uphill battle—adapting a franchise known more for its multiplayer chaos than its narrative depth—this is hardly the ideal start. The Call of Duty movie is currently scheduled for release on June 30, 2028.
