Metroid

Metroid movie should not worry about appealing to general audience, because it is unlikely to appeal to them. Metroid is a B list franchise at its height, and calling it a D-list franchise right now is extremely generous. Combined with the reputation of video game movies, the most it can achieve is being called "dumbed-down Aliens."

I still think it's fun to run it as a thought experiment, though.

If some big Hollywood studio got their hands on it they'd probably strip out everything that makes it unique and turn it into "Dumbed down Aliens." Coming out in the next two weeks we have a Hollywood version of Power Rangers and a Hollywood produced Ghost in the Shell. I'm willing to bet money that both of them will be terrible because the Hollywood machine stripped the source material of everything that made those things recognizable so they could churn out crap that they think will appeal to the lowest common denominator. Honestly I think the best scenario would be if someone like the DC animation team were given the rights. I think they'd be able to to do a good job. Plus, that way it's animated and you don't have to worry about hiring "professional actors."

Well, yeah, there's issues like that, too.

But at the same time it feels like we're devising a pretty solid rough outline just by kinda spitballing here.

Imagine if the movie went with brain-in-a-jar, but titanic. Like, Samus goes into a cavern and holds up a light, and one wall is just entirely made of pulsing gray matter behind a clear shell.

Or maybe push the Body Horror aspect and have lots of writhing tissue and some bleeding where the mechanical components attach to the organic ones.

I wonder if Dr Wheelo was based on Mother Brain

Or whether giant brain turns into giant robot is just a classic trope

Anyway. What are the can't live without essentials for a Metroid movie

1. Samus Aran
2. ?

edited 21st Mar '17 6:13:20 AM by Bocaj

Metroids.

I'd say just let Mother Brain be a big ass brain in a jar. Whether you see her or not until the end doesn't matter so much, but she doesn't open her eye until the final showdown.

3. Ridley
4. Ridley again, but with robot parts

edited 21st Mar '17 6:38:33 AM by Zeromaeus

In a single movie or...?

5. The Chozo

Ruins or living ones. Their presence needs to be felt. If you're not going to acknowledge that Samus was raised by birds then what's the point?

Related a good plot point to use would be Samus finding out that the Metroids were made by the Chozo

edited 21st Mar '17 9:21:37 AM by Bocaj

Surely Samus already knows? Metroid is the Chozo word for 'ultimate warrior' after all.

Doesn't necessarily follow that the Chozo created them

The Chozo founded the federation so there's probably a lot of language borrowing

And sometimes creatures are named for silly reasons.

I guess we'd have to assume Samus knew about the X parasites if she knew the metroids were created by the Chozo, and neither she nor anyone else seemed to know about them prior.

I am wondering how the universe hadn't already been conquered by the X if they were such a dangerous threat that the Chozo had to design a whole new race to decimate their numbers. The out of universe reason that the team hadn't thought of them before, but still.

... And now I'm wishing we could have encountered one or two X in AM2R. Not a lot of them obviously since their numbers were being tightly controlled by metroids but still.

edited 21st Mar '17 10:13:38 AM by PhiSat

My theory is that the presence of Metroids drove the X into the remotest corners of SR 388 and because they weren't smart until they started absorbing smart people it took them a while to spread back to the surface after all the Metroids were dead'd.

Anyway, Metroid movie set on an archeological mission on some small Chozo outpost that happenstances to be where or one of the wheres the Chozo created the Metroids? Cast of Samus, I wanna say Gandrayda, some survivors of the archeologists, some Metroids, Ridley, and a bunch of pirates that take over the site.

I say Gandrayda because she makes a great foil for a taciturn Samus and her abilities are a good contrast from Samus'. Gives you a good opportunity to have someone overhearing pirate plans.

edited 21st Mar '17 10:21:50 AM by Bocaj

How were the X a threat to the galaxy when they were unable to leave the planet? If they got their hands on a ship then yes, they could endanger other planets, but that never actually happened. And the only time it was ever stated that the Chozo founded the Federation was the Metroid Manga which is of dubious canonicity. I prefer the backstory that the Chozo, Luminoth, N'Kren and Ylla were all technologically advanced races that knew each other.

There must have been some kind of close call with the X at some point down the line or the Chozo wouldn't see the need to create an organism for the sole purpose of culling them...

... I'd say this would be great prequel game material with some other Chozo warrior/warriors if Nintendo hadn't obviously given up on Metroid.

It bothered me when the Fusion manual said that the Metroids were created SOLELY to stop the X. It diminishes them as a threat, and they could have other purposes besides fighting off the X.

It seems they could potentially have other purposes, since Super Metroid states that their powers could be used for good... Though of course that could just mean for the good of the military, since that's obviously been a goal of the Federation throughout all metroid research.

What I cannot do without:

1) Samus herself - cool and taciturn, graceful and powerful, with her caring side expressed subtly but unmistakably.
1a) How she appears to citizens of the Galactic Federation, probably depicted fleetingly.

2) Space Pirates depicted as a threatening and powerful force, though a little bit of comedy from the rank and file might be fun.

3) Ridley appearing in some capacity, even if he doesn't get a "boss fight."

4) Scenes of solitude, even if the whole movie isn't like that.
4a) Weird alien landscapes, and preferably a variety of them.
4b) Strange monsters unique to the locale we're visiting in addition to classic foes.

5) A base escape, even if it isn't a whole planet exploding. In fact, it would preferably not be a whole planet exploding. That's something you build up to.

6) Federation acknowledged and depicted, but without drawing too much focus.

edited 21st Mar '17 12:55:25 PM by Durazno

I have to wonder why it is only soul-devouring jellyfish can consume X.

From what I can tell, the X where going to appear in AM 2 R orginally. They were going to be revealed as being encased in those crystall thingies that the metroid hatchling eats away. Note: they weren't going to appear in the endgame, just in a post-game cutscene.

The chozo outpost sounds good. I'd rather have samus on her own though, or at least with someone as taciturn as her, since Gandrayda is a very polarizing character. I think Mad Max: Fury Road is the best example of how to do a movie like that.

Mother Brain is just too... Difficult to take seriously. Ridley at least looks cool in the 3d games. Mother Brain looks like your typical B-Movie monster. I'd like to keep her, but only because of the maternal themes that are associated with her. So maybe, if she *must* be included, just use her as a computer program, with her brain body as a mental projection.

It's just that, as an antagonist, Ridley and Mother cover two different conflicts that are difficult to integrate into one movie. Ridley is the arch-nemesis, the guy that killed Samus's parents with some similar backstory to her. Mother Brain is more of a foil to the mature samus, serving as a dark mother figure to her positive image. There's also the whole "The Chozo's greatest creation" that they have going on.

Generally speaking, one movie of this kind should have only one antagonist with an emotional connection to the main character (SA-X, Prime, Sylux, etc).

I really dug the idea of Ridley following Chozo doctrine for his own purposes though. Adds another layer to his character.

Shoot for the sky, maybe - a trilogy with establishing movie, Ridley, then Mother Brain?

I feel like Metroid would be better suited for a serialized TV format, but there'd be no budget for that.

This is me reading into things, but I prefer Mother Brain as less of a villain, more just a setpiece— the big room full of brain matter in tubes, rather than the giant monster. The final scene of Super Metroid is really about Samus and the Metroid, and Mother Brain's presence is incidental at that point. She's just another target for Samus— unlike Ridley, there's no personal stakes there, just one last monster to kill. It's personal for Mother Brain, but for Samus it was just Tuesday.

Which is why Samus almost loses that fight— her usual routine won't work here. Mother Brain isn't just a brain in a jar, and she's even more than just the sum of her cyborg body parts. And so Samus's one act of mercy, sparing the last Metroid, that's what saves her. She spared the baby Metroid, so it spared her. Now it's saved her— so she has to find a way to pay that back. And that's where I want to see the series go. Mother Brain is done, at that point.

So what are you implying? Some kind Doctor Strange third act? Like with Dormammu?

I dunno, Mother's personality can be used to contrast against samus. If they're going to use her, she should be a full fledged character maybe. She's not only the mother figure of the pirates, she's also the epitome of the chozo's pride, but always second best to samus. She's the corrupted heart of zebes, and her destruction even brings about its end.

This is how it should go, all very hollywood like:

Samus: So, ridley, were are we?

Ridley: In the local subway, the metro system. Are you an android or something?

Samus: Yeah. So that's it huh? We're the patsies. We're some kinda Metroid.

(I'm so sorry)