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Paramount Pictures has plans to turn Call of Duty into the next Top Gun: Maverick

Ahead of the release of the 22nd Call of Duty game, Paramount Pictures is announcing the first Call of Duty movie

Published on Tue Sep 02 2025

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PAX West 2025 might be over, but that doesn’t mean video game-related news isn’t finished, with the announcement that Paramount Pictures is partnering with Activision to bring Call of Duty to the big screen as a live-action movie likened to the Top Gun movies.

Activision, which has published the game franchise since its debut in 2003, will have creative input on the movie, although no writer or director has been attached as yet. The 22nd game in the series — Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — is set to be released later this year for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows machines. It’s not clear which era or setting the movie will take place in, with CoD as a game property taking place in multiple time periods.

Newly installed Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement, “As a lifelong fan of Call of Duty this is truly a dream come true. From the first Allied campaigns in the original Call of Duty, through Modern Warfare and Black Ops, I’ve spent countless hours playing this franchise that I absolutely love. Being entrusted by Activision and players worldwide to bring this extraordinary storytelling universe to the big screen is both an honor and a responsibility that we don’t take lightly. We’re approaching this film with the same disciplined, uncompromising commitment to excellence that guided our work on Top Gun: Maverick, ensuring it meets the exceptionally high standards this franchise and its fans deserve.”

Activision president Rob Kostich added, “Throughout its history, Call of Duty has captured our imagination with incredible action and intense stories that have brought millions of people together from around the world, and that focus on making incredible Call of Duty games remains unwavering. With Paramount, we have found a fantastic partner who we will work with to take that visceral, breathtaking action to the big screen in a defining cinematic moment. The film will honor and expand upon what has made this franchise great in the first place, and we cannot wait to get started. Our shared goal is quite simple — to create an unforgettable blockbuster movie experience that our community loves, and one that also excites and inspires new fans of the franchise.”

This isn’t the first time Activision has tried to transform Call of Duty from game to movie: in 2015, Activision announced plans for a feature for a potential 2018 or 2019 release, with Sicario 2: Soldado director Stefano Sollima working from a screenplay by Scott Silver, who has written The Fighter, 8 Mile, and the two Joker movies. It’s unknown what derailed that effort, or whether any of that development will be used in this new movie.

No release date for the Call of Duty movie was mentioned in the announcement; Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 the game will be released November 14, 2025.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.