EA Games
For possibly the first time ever, there is news that will excite both lit nerds and hardcore gamers: Dante’s Inferno will be adpated into a film, with Fede Alvarez set to direct. Although primarily a live-action adaptation of the 2010 video game, Inferno will also take inspiration from the epic poem by Dante Alighieri. For those of you who have never played the game (or been assigned The Divine Comedy in school), the plot will center on Dante, who must traverse through the nine levels of hell and the horrors they contain to rescue his beloved Beatrice, accompanied by the soul of the poet Virgil.
However, the juxtaposition of a movie adaptation of a video game based on a classic poem, directed by the same person who helmed the Evil Dead remake got us thinking about the kind of film that Dante’s Inferno will turn out to be. After all, those are a lot of very different elements coming into play, which gives the filmmakers many different directions from which to choose. We decided to help them out and came up with four possible ways that Inferno could be adapted into a movie.
The Action-Adventure
This version is the one audiences are most likely to get, and could be based solely on the video game. This version of events would include at least four major explosions, a slow motion jump that someone barely makes, and a passionate kiss in the middle of a battle. Virgil would play the role of wisecracking sidekick, who has moments of great depth. There will be talk of tie-ins with at least one Marvel character.
The Romance
Told from Beatrice’s point of view, it’s the story of the epic love between Dante and Beatrice, while she waits to be rescued from the inner circle of hell. Most of the film will consist of flashbacks to the times when they were together and happy, intercut with scenes of Beatrice being held captive. At least two male characters will also be in love with her, and one of them will be Lucifer. It will end with Beatrice and Dante’s touching wedding.
The Horror Film
This adaptation will focus less on Dante’s resuce mission, and instead puts the greatest amount of focus on the horrors of hell. There will be enough blood and gore to fill three Saw films. Halfway through the movie, Dante will be unable to tell what is real and what he is hallucinating. Virgil will definitely die a horrific death, and Dante will barely escape hell, only to spend the rest of his life traumatized by the things he witnessed there.
The Period Piece
Set in the 1300s, this focuses on Dante Aligheri writing the Divine Comedy. The only glimpses of hell that the audience gets are when Dante is reciting or reading passages of his poem to an audience. There will be at least three long, beautifully lit scenes of Alighieri writing that are scored with tinkly pianos. Someone will stand in a field while the camera circles them.
Now, all that’s left is to wait for a trailer to come out and see if any one of these are correct.
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