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The videogame-to-TV pipeline grew a little wider today with a Deadline report revealing that a show based on Quantic Dream’s action-adventure Beyond: Two Souls is now in development at Elliot Page’s Pageboy Productions.
Page, you’ll recall, starred in Beyond: Two Souls, a “psychological action thriller” about a girl whose powerful telepathic abilities lead her into a web of intrigue and conspiracies. It was well received when it launched for the PlayStation 3 in 2013, although not without criticism: Former PC Gamer wordsmith Andy Kelly said ahead of the game’s years-later release on PC that “it feels like David Cage is trying to make ten completely different films at once, resulting in a confusing jumble of themes and tone.”
“It doesn’t know whether it’s a supernatural thriller, a coming-of-age teen melodrama, or an action movie,” Kelly wrote in 2019. “It leaps between time periods and genres so wildly, and for so little reason, that it’s almost impossible to get invested in the story. And when Jodie visits a wise old Native American in the New Mexico desert, well… let’s just say ‘write what you know’ is a piece of advice Cage should have taken to heart.
“There’s a SWAT team too, of course, and a gratuitous shower scene.”
That shower scene turned out to be an issue for reasons aside from its gratuitousness: Page’s character appears nude in the scene, and while the character model isn’t fully visible in the game, some enterprising jerk who presumably had a PS3 devkit used a “free camera” mode to create and upload images to the internet. Page didn’t actually get naked for the game—the 3D model was made by an artist—but nonetheless reportedly explored legal action against Sony over the images after efforts to work things out with Quantic Dream didn’t go anywhere. Sony eventually issued takedown notices to sites hosting the images, and the potential legal action does not appear to have been pursued further.
All water under the bridge now, apparently. “Filming the game was one of the most challenging and fulfilling acting experiences of my career,” Page said. “The story’s rich narrative and emotional depth offer us a fantastic foundation. We want to create a unique vision of the characters and their journeys that resonates with fans and newcomers.”
What role Quantic Dream will play in the production of the Beyond: Two Souls show, if any, isn’t clear, but studio founder David Cage said he’s “absolutely thrilled to collaborate again with Elliot Page on this project.”
“I was blown away by his acting performance in the game, and I couldn’t think of anyone else to tell this story with the same passion on another medium,” Cage said. “Beyond: Two Souls is a very special game for millions of players around the world who were moved by the story of Jodie and Aiden, and their journey in life and beyond. I know that Elliot has all the talent and instinct to make it something really unique on TV.”
There was a time when television or film adaptations of videogames were DOA by default, but things have changed in recent years as shows like The Witcher, The Last of Us, Fallout, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Arcane have launched to critical acclaim and commercial success. There are still plenty of stinkers out there like Borderlands (well, maybe not quite like Borderlands, because hoo boy) but the point is that it’s no longer safe to dismiss these things out of hand. Beyond: Two Souls earned praise for its story and acting, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that will carry over to a TV show, which unlike the game will turn entirely on its story and acting.
There’s currently no indication as to when Beyond: Two Souls will turn up on your TV: The Deadline report says the series is now in “early development.”
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Kurt Indovina
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