The company behind the hit game Elden Ring, a Japanese developer named From Software, has announced its intention to “continue our efforts in expanding the brand beyond the game itself, and into everyone’s daily life”.
The phrasing in this official press release seems to suggest that Elden Ring could become a multimedia affair, which will send ideas for potential movie adaptations, merchandise products, TV spinoffs and tie-in books firing through the minds of fans. And we’d argue that one particular idea seems like an easy win for From Software.
After all, its gruellingly difficult fantasy game was created in collaboration with George RR Martin, the writer of the book series that spawned Game of Thrones. His input is quite hard to spot in the finished product, though, not least because dialogue and cut-scenes are in short supply during the game, which puts most of its focus on open-world exploration and stunning boss battles.
A well-executed piece of multimedia expansion could resolve that situation nicely, allowing fans to see George RR Martin’s vision for Elden Ring in a clearer way. We’d definitely watch a movie based on Martin’s Elden Ring musings, but a novelisation of his work could work as well, or an animated series of a similar ilk to Arcane (the League of Legends show that won a lot of love when it launched on Netflix last year).
But what exactly did Martin contribute to Elden Ring? Is there enough of it to fill a movie or a series or a book? Those are good questions, and we’re going to try and find the answers for you now.
In a 2021 interview that circulated on Twitter, Martin explained that he “worked up a fairly detailed background” for the game several years ago, essentially creating a document full of lore and backstory for the team at From Software to use in their ideation for Elden Ring.
Martin added in a more recent blog post, “what they wanted from me was just a bit of worldbuilding: a deep, dark, resonant world to serve as a foundation for the game they planned to create. And as it happens, I love creating worlds and writing imaginary history. So I did my bit, and handed off to my new friends in Japan, and they took it from there.”
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Delving a bit more into the specifics during an IGN interview, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki credited Martin with naming the vast open-world environment at the heart of the game, The Lands Between. Martin is also credited with creating the term Tarnished (which refers to a number of characters including the player’s avatar), and creating the demigod characters that serve as the main bosses.
Most recently, a Game Informer interview with Miyazaki explained that Martin basically wrote the mythology for Elden Ring that took place prior to the ‘shattering of the ring’ moment that players witness in the game’s opening cut-scene. This event sent shards of the mystical Elden Ring flying into demigod characters that Martin had created, twisting them into the demented bosses you face in the game. The Elden Ring’s shattering also allowed the descendants of the original Tarnished, who had been banished from The Lands Between, to return and explore this world, giving the player a reason to play.
Miyazaki told Game Informer, “When Martin wrote these characters, and when he provided that origin story that mythos for the world of Elden Ring, these demigods were much closer to their original form, and maybe closer to human form back then, before the Shattering, before it all started […] So that was our job to take these grand heroes and sort of misshape them and distort them into something they were not.”
When you read all this stuff (and that Game Informer piece really is well worth reading), it’s impossible not to be curious about Martin’s original document, where slimy beasts like Godric, Renalla, Rykard and Margit may have been honourable heroes, rather than demented villains. (And if you hadn’t noticed, someone involved in the game is certainly having fun using George RR Martin’s initials to name the bosses in the game.)
If From Software is serious about expanding Elden Ring into other media, we would urge them to explore a pre-shattering story set in Martin’s original version of The Lands Between, or something closer to it than the eventual game.
Could there be movie potential in the story of several heroic demigods trying to hold back the destruction of the Elden Ring, only to fail and turn into beasts by the end of it? That may be a downer of an ending, but hey, everyone loved Rogue One’s cast-killing finale, so perhaps an Elden Ring prequel film could be similarly thrilling.
Or could there be a series stuffed with intrigue and betrayal, set even further back in that timeline, something not a million miles from Game of Thrones itself? You can just imagine TV networks and online streamers queuing up for a piece of that.
Certainly, now that gamers have learned to love The Lands Between and the mysterious characters that it call it home, it’s easy to imagine those fans flocking to films, TV shows, books or even comics that build on that world and allow us to understand it a bit more.
Here’s hoping that Miyazaki is getting Martin on the phone and dreaming up ideas with him of how they could expand this gaming hit into a franchise. Based on how good Elden Ring is, there’s no doubt we’d show up to see what they do next. Martin’s not meant to be working on anything else at the moment, right?
Read more on Elden Ring:
- Elden Ring review – our final verdict
- Elden Ring multiplayer – how does it work?
- Elden Ring PC requirements – minimum & recommended specs
- Elden Ring classes – what’s the best starter?
- Elden Ring demo – network test recap
- Elden Ring bosses – top tips on facing them
- Elden Ring difficulty – how hard is it?
- Elden Ring length – how many hours do you need?
- Elden Ring trophies & achievements – the full list to unlock
- Elden Ring weapons – best early weapons
- Elden Ring keepsake – which starter gift to pick
- Elden Ring server status – error message explained
- Elden Ring map – everything you need to know
- Elden Ring runes – how to get rich quick
- Elden Ring smithing stones – where to find them
- Elden Ring staff – the best staffs in the game
- Elden Ring armour – where to find the best armour
- Elden Ring Ashes of War – how to get the best upgrades
- Elden Ring Ranni quest – how to find it and finish it
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