Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most critically-acclaimed PlayStation 2 games of all-time and serves as one of the main examples in the “Games as Art” debate that has been raging on for years. For five years, Sony has been planning a film adaptation of the game, but much like the game’s follow-up, The Last Guardian, not much in the way of information has been brought up since the announcement. At one point, Chronicle director Josh Trank was attached to direct the film. However, with his focus being drawn elsewhere (re: Fantastic Four), Sony has had to replace the director.

Their search has resulted in the hiring of Andres Muschietti, director of last year’s horror film, Mama. That film’s use of psychological horror and CGI scares would somewhat fit Shadow of the Colossus‘s tone, if utilized correctly. I’ve always seen any film adaptation of Shadow of the Colossus to follow a quiet, cerebral narrative with scenes of grandiose, larger than life CGI/live-action fight scenes. Given that Mama was Muschietti’s first film, I don’t know what type of vision he’ll be able to craft. However, one of the film’s producers had this to say about Muschietti and his love of the game:

“We knew we had our director once we heard Andy’s take on the material – it was genius.  The themes, characters and supernatural elements of the story have incredible international appeal with fans of the game in the millions.”

For those unfamiliar with Shadow of the Colossus, the game follows Wander as he sets out to defeat 16 colossi in exchange for his partner Mono’s life. However, every time he kills a colossus, he loses a part of his own soul.

[via Collider]