Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
Fast & Furious director Justin Lin is stepping into the world of video game adaptations with a new live-action project. Lin will direct and produce a film based on a popular Sony video game title. He teams up with PlayStation Productions and screenwriter Gary Dauberman to bring the game’s universe to the big screen.
Justin Lin will direct Helldivers movie from a script by Gary Dauberman
Justin Lin will direct and produce the film adaptation of Helldivers, based on the video game franchise by Arrowhead Game Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions are developing the project, with Gary Dauberman, writer of It and Annabelle, writing the script. Justin Lin will produce the film through his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner, alongside Hutch Parker and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan.
Arrowhead Game Studios released the original Helldivers in 2015 to critical acclaim. The sequel, Helldivers 2, launched in 2024 and sold over 12 million units on PlayStation 5 and PC within four months. By October 2025, sales across all platforms, including Xbox, exceeded 19 million. The game emphasizes co-op gameplay and satirizes a militarized democracy engaged in alien warfare.
The story follows elite soldiers known as Helldivers who protect the interstellar regime of Super Earth. These troops fight alien threats such as the insectoid Terminids, robotic Automatons, and the technologically advanced Illuminate. The concept draws comparisons to Starship Troopers, incorporating sci-fi battles and genetically engineered creatures.
Lin, who does not identify as a gamer, embraced his outsider perspective when pitching his vision. He plans to expand the game’s mythology and focus on character-driven narratives and relevant themes. The games offer limited centralized lore, giving Lin creative room to build the film’s universe.
Lin also remains attached to direct One-Punch Man and Brzrkr, a Netflix adaptation of the Keanu Reeves comic. He previously directed five films in the Fast & Furious franchise, which earned a combined $2.66 billion worldwide, as well as Star Trek Beyond. His most recent film, Last Days, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Sony and PlayStation Productions previously collaborated on Uncharted, which grossed $407 million worldwide, and also produce Twisted Metal for Peacock and The Last of Us for HBO.
