Democracy is coming to the silver screen following the announcement of a new Helldivers 2 live-action movie from Sony, and Arrowhead Game Studios, the team behind the shooter, CCO Johan Pilestedt has clarified the team’s involvement.
During CES 2025, Sony announced two other projects alongside the Helldivers 2 movie, including a Horizon Zero Dawn movie adaptation, and a Ghost of Tsushima animation.
The co-op third-person shooter Helldivers 2 launched in February 2024 and found immediate success thanks to its brutal combat against Terminids and Automatons, and its comical comradery. Looking to the future, with the shooter’s success paving the way, Arrowhead is working on the next game to succeed Helldivers 2. With updates continuing throughout 2025 on Super Earth, Pilestedt said the team was open to feedback from the community to help craft the next project during the early stages of development.
Sony announced the Helldivers 2 movie was a collaboration between Sony Productions and Sony Pictures, but head of PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash remained tight-lipped on any further details. Since the Helldivers community is rather protective of the source material, fans have been asking if Arrowhead would be involved in the development. Pilestedt finally responded on Twitter and admitted he had been dodging this question. The CCO confirmed the studio would be involved, but stated “We are not Hollywood people, and we don’t know what it takes to make a movie.” Pilestedt continued, “And therefore we don’t, and shouldn’t, have final say.”
Helldivers 2 Dev Touches on Arrowhead’s Involvement in Movie Adaptation
Hey @Pilestedt can you confirm if arrowhead will be involved with the production of the helldivers movie to ensure the films stays faithful to the games?
— Chirpyruko (@chirpyruko) January 10, 2025
Helldivers fans are adamant the movie has to strike the right tone, and to achieve this, the community is keen to see Arrowhead involved as much as possible, so the script and action remain loyal to the game. One Twitter user expressed concern that producers and writers would try to make the movie “their own,” and one idea players didn’t want to see was “gamer wakes up in Helldivers universe.” Most agreed Arrowhead should have the final say on the script, theme, and aesthetic of the movie, and another fan thought it was paramount the Helldivers never take their helmets off.

While a Helldivers 2 movie sounds like an action-packed time on the silver screen, comparisons have been drawn to a pre-existing cult classic. Starship Troopers is a 1997 sci-fi action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and based on the 1959 novel by Robert A. Heinlein. The premise involves a militant branch of the Earth-based United Citizen Federation that is caught in an interstellar war with alien Arachnids, and gamers hope Helldivers 2 can set itself apart from Starship Troopers, possibly by getting rid of the common alien insects.

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By Jo Craig 14 January 2025