Why, it seems like it was only last week that we were talking about the 2005 Doom movie. In point of fact, it WAS only last week. Hardly had the (metaphorical) ink dried on our fairly savage Retro Review of the infamous box office car-crash, then the film was again pushed back into the spotlight as Dwayne Johnson took to Twitter to bemoan his role in the affair. And now, several days on we’re once again bringing you another article about Doom, as it seems Universal have already made a start on rebooting the movie.
Anybody who’s ever lifted a gamepad in anger will know the storyline of the iconic first person shooter. When a portal to a demonic dimension opens on the surface of Mars, the inhabitants of a nearby scientific research station are massacred, leaving a sole space marine to try and fight his way clear of the devastation. With levels of violence and gore previously unseen at the time of its release, the game was a huge smash, and remains relevant even 25 years after it first landed.
It remains something of a mystery what the $60m it cost to make the original move adaptation was actually spent on. It certainly wasn’t the script, the cast, or the CGI, all of fell short of the required standard. Doom became yet another failed attempt to adapt a computer game into a movie, joining a parade of spectacularly poor similar attempts. But it seems the tide is finally turning on Hollywood’s toxic relationship with the video games industry.
Love them or loathe them, the Resident Evil movies have simply refused to go away, making Sony Pictures a small fortune. This year’s Tomb Raider reboot is being hailed as a vast improvement on the original movies, and the likes of Warcraft and Rampage have also been held up as huge successes. Suddenly the concept of having another crack at trying to replicate the horrors and carnage of the Doom games doesn’t seem as insane anymore…
So what’s the basis for this sudden interest in the idea? Well, it’s more of a ‘who’ than a ‘what’. If you don’t know who Nina Bergman is, you’re probably not in the minority, but she’s caused something of a stir this week by announcing on Twitter that she’s signed up to appear in a new Doom movie that Universal are working on. The Danish singer and actress is not well known outside of her homeland, though you may have heard her music in movies like Sharknado, or seen her appearing in comedy sketches on The Late Late Show.
Bergman didn’t reveal much in the way of detail about the project, and had this to say in her Tweet:
Wow I’m doing the next “Doom” movie w Universal Pictures! I just signed all the paperwork💃🏼I get to go back to Bulgaria again and work with some of my favorite people💕This movie w a super cool Director AND my new record coming out, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world🍀 pic.twitter.com/q8t4iI0bgO
— Nina Bergman (@ninabergman) April 17, 2018
When pressed for further detail, all she would add was that the script was a vast improvement on the original. Given the lack of official announcements about the proposed reboot, Bergman’s relatively unknown status, and the decision to film in Eastern Europe, it’s entirely possible tosh this new adaptation will be less of a blockbuster affair, and something altogether darker and sinister. Naturally, as soon as we hear any further detail or clarification about the whole affair, we’ll bring it straight to you.
What do you think of this news? Are you excited for another Doom movie? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comments!