Legendary, Warner have Mass Effect

Legendary will make the feature version under its co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros, which will distribute the film worldwide. The companies have previously teamed on projects including The Dark Knight, 300, Clash of the Titans and The Hangover.

Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce the film with Avi and Ari Arad. BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will serve as executive producers, as will Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson.

The producers say they are in discussions with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) to draft a screenplay.

Originally developed by BioWare (now owned by Electronic Arts), Mass Effect takes place in the year 2183 and follows a space team trying to defeat an ancient alien race that invades the galaxy every 50,000 years. The most recent game in the series, Mass Effect 2, was released in January.

”Mass Effect is a tremendous property ripe for translation to the big screen,” said Legendary chairman and CEO Thomas Tull in a statement. “It has depth, compelling characters and an engaging back story.”