Michael Mando, who played Vaas Montenegro in the acclaimed video game Far Cry 3, revealed that an origin movie based on his character is being explored. Mando has appeared in several projects over the last decade including TV shows like Orphan Black and The Killing. However, he is best known for his role as Nacho Varga in the ongoing AMC hit series and Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul. He has also been introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after appearing in the post-credits scene of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming as Mac Gargan/Scorpion.
Far Cry is a franchise of first-person open-world shooter games published by Ubisoft. The game series has mostly received positive reviews and is considered a massive commercial success. The third game in the series, Far Cry 3, received critical acclaim upon its release back in 2012. The story of the game revolves around protagonist Jason Brody, who is on vacation with his friend on the fictional Rook Islands. After the vacation goes awry, he must save his friends who have been kidnapped by pirates, and escape from the island and its crazed inhabitants. The pirates are led by the nefarious fan-favourite character and antagonist Vaas Montenegro, played by Mando.
When speaking to GAMINGbible in a recent interview, Mando expressed that he would love to reincarnate his iconic character from the game in a live-action version. He mentioned that he shared "a couple of ideas" that were circulating in his head on a possible film adaptation with interested screenwriters including Greg Russo (Mortal Kombat). He also said that there is "a lot of interest" from multiple fronts and revealed that he has even "spoken to producers" based out of Los Angeles who were enticed by the idea. Mando stated that "if the fans asked for it," it might happen, and that the movie is "very close" to further development. Check out what he had to say below:
“I have been thinking about it for a while. I spoke with Ubisoft in Italy a few years ago. We had coffee and I told [them] a couple of ideas that I had for a film. And I have a couple of really great ideas I spoke about with Greg Russo who is really interested in Vaas as a character and making a film. I spoke to some writers from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul about it, and there's a lot of interest there. I’ve also spoken to producers here in Los Angeles that are interested. I think if the fans really asked for it, I feel we could give it to them, right? I think we're very close, we'll see where it goes.”
The Canadian actor disclosed that he "learned a lot" from the writers of Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, calling them "masters." He stressed the importance of "pulling back" from certain elements, like the violence, and putting the focus on the themes being portrayed in the story. Mando also expressed he was "fascinated" by the idea of an origin story for Vaas, and would like to explore just how the character ended up where he is at the beginning of Far Cry 3. The actor divulged some additional plans he has for the character that takes place on a "huge international scale" and remained hopeful that fans continue to ask for a movie so the project can happen.
Mando isn't the only member of the Better Call Saul cast to portray a major character in the famous game series. The recently-released Far Cry 6 featured Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, the main villain of the story. While reviews for the latest instalment have been positive, the storyline was criticized for its lack of innovation and not making the most of Esposito's talent. That certainly wasn't the case with the charismatic Vaas Montenegro in Far Cry 3, as Mando's range of talents were put to full use with his motion-capture performance. Ubisoft stated not too long ago that there is no movie or TV series based on Vaas in the works at the moment, but it's quite clear that Mando is working hard behind the scenes to change that and bring the legendary character to life. Far Cry fans can only hope this comes to fruition.
Source: GAMINGbible