Metro 2033 Film Canceled

Way back in 2016, it was announced (although I’m pretty sure we never reported on it) that Metro 2033, the Russian novels-turned-popular video games, were being turned into a movie by one F. Scott Frazier, who was pinned to be the screenwriter. However, it was reported last night that the movie has now been canceled, and the rights to the property have reverted back to the original author, Dmitry Glukhovsky.

As for why it’s been canceled? Mr. Glukhovsky was pretty unambiguous about it when he spoke on the subject to VG24/7. The screenwriter wanted to move the setting from Moscow to Washington DC, and that idea is terrible.

“A lot of things didn’t work out in Washington DC. In Washington DC, Nazis don’t work, Communists don’t work at all, and the Dark Ones don’t work. Washington DC is a black city basically. That’s not at all the allusion I want to have, it’s a metaphor of general xenophobia but it’s not a comment on African Americans at all. So it didn’t work… They had to replace the Dark Ones with some kind of random beasts and as long as the beasts don’t look human, the entire story of xenophobia doesn’t work which was very important to me as a convinced internationalist. They turned it into a very generic thing."

I’m not sure the Nazi’s wouldn’t work these days, but he has a point with the communists and Dark Ones. Plus, one of the unique selling points of Metro is its Russian-ness, but Hollywood wisdom states Americans want stories about Americans, so the stupid, stupid screenwriter insisted.

With all that said, I’m quite glad the movie was ultimately canceled rather than ruined. So now if you want more Metro, you’ll just have to read the books or something. That’s a novel idea, eh?