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Why League of Legends shouldn't have a movie adaptation

EvilUnicornLord·4/2/2017, 9:34:16 PM·37 votes·3,595 views

To some, it seems absurd of a notion to make League of Legends into a movie. To others it seems absurd to not make a movie adaptation of such a great game.

Well, as Riot has said, video game movies have a pretty bad reputation. If you don't know what they're talking about, look up on YouTube for "worst video game movies" and you get an idea after seeing Mario, Scorpion, and like characters reshaped into the worst possible adaptations of said characters. It's just that there are no good movies based off of video games (and Wreck-it-Ralph does not count)

Additionally, while some video games made at least "okay" movies (if you're be generous), League of Legends is not the proper game to base a movie off of and let me explain why.

First of all, League is a MOBA. Unlike games such as Uncharted, Mario games (not including spinoffs), and the Elder Scrolls franchise, there is no story progress in League. While in other games, you get closer to the end goal as you play the game, whether you're defeating foe after foe to reach the coveted Soul Edge, whether you're pressing on through countless trials to light the primal bonfires, even if you're breaking apart crudely constructed blocks to pummel green pigs you are making progress. But, no matter how many matches of League you win, you make no difference on the story.

If there's one thing every good story has, it's conflict which, by the end of the story, is resolved. Movies follow this rule very strongly and those that don't are usually documentaries. As such, League of Legends' storyline is not fit to be in a movie because it doesn't end. If Demacia fought off the void, if the Avarosan prevented the rise of the Watchers, if any of the numerous stories within League were completed, League would end. The lore may progress, but it cannot completely end.

Secondly, it is too vast. League of Legends does not have one storyline, it has several. If a movie was created and followed all the stories of Piltover and Zaun, that would leave the Frelijord, the Shadow Isles, Shurima, Ionia, and so many other places uncovered. Sure, Orianna may have regained her humanity and Ekko may clean Zaun and make it a better place, but Miss Fortune is still struggling to control Bilgewater, Yorick and Maokai have yet to repair the Shadow Isles, and the hero of Demacia hasn't realized their purpose yet.

If League of Legends' story was put into the format of a TV show, it would feel very drawn out, having too many storylines to follow. Just imagine how that would turn out in a movie. It would require more installments than Harry Potter or The Fast and the Furious.

Finally, it is perfectly fine how it is. With gradual attachments to the lore and small video cinematics that amaze the viewer, it's alright for it to not have a full-length feature film.

Although we, as gamers, always want more and are never satisfied, it's nigh time we accept that a League of Legends movie is not happening for the better. Heck, can you imagine how horrible a movie would be if based off of a League match? "Mid or feed" "Git gud" "ferociously spamming rank 7"

Anyway, let me know what you think Riot should do concerning a League of Legends movie. Peace!

58 Comments

Extrasolar4/2/2017, 9:52:30 PM18 votes

I'd say no to a traditional (live-action) movie, because the vast majority of live-action movies based on things like cartoons and video games are terrible, and because a lot of the points you brought up (no single linear story), and far too many characters to focus on, and...video game movies based on fantasy properties are especially prone to rearranging, rewriting and misrepresenting the world to try to make it "work" in movie format (coughDragonBallEvolutioncough). Even an animated movie would fall into the same pitfalls.

What I think they should do, however, is a series of animated shorts. They can even do animated adaptations of some of the lore stories we've already gotten as proof of concept, and if those are done well and prove popular, I see no reason why we couldn't get, say, a 3 to 5 minute short featuring a champion or champions every few months or so. The best part about disconnected shorts is that they don't need to flow narratively.

Judging purely on the quality of some fan animations which are made by amateur animators and smaller teams, when they've got professional animators, designers, and equipment, imagine what they could do with that.

Fondling Gems4/2/2017, 10:02:49 PM11 votes

I would like to see something more along the lines of an animated series with one off episodes following various characters. The episodes don't have to connect, there doesn't have to be an overarching storyline, it would just be a small snippet of a champion's life in each episode.

A movie would be far too inflexible because you couldn't cover more than a small fraction of the champ pool which would suck for a lot of people. However a somewhat unique series where in one episode we get 5-10 minute snippets of different champion's lives in 30 minute episodes would be neat. Honestly I would love to spent 5-10 minutes just listening to Aurelion Sol's inner brooding as he flies among the stars.

We have plenty of evidence that stories don't need a central storyline to be successful in episodic format. That is pretty much the driving factor behind slice of life (although slice of life as a franchise has moved away from that a bit.) I would love to see a slice of life League of Legends.

Deep Terror Nami4/2/2017, 10:07:00 PM7 votes

Animated comics are way better for games like this.

Slimegoon4/3/2017, 12:22:30 AM2 votes

I'm not saying Rotten Tomatoes is the best judge, but only 2 movies based on videos games rate higher than 40% (Angry Birds and Final Fantasy) and neither of those two go higher than 44%. I haven't seen them all, but the ones I've seen have been trash (although I'm partial to Final Fantasy, I think the animation is awesome). If Riot makes a League game, it will be terrible and I wouldn't pay to see it. There's literally no example of a well-made game movie.

That being said, they'll make one. The last Resident Evil broke $300 million. Assassin's Creed broke $200 million, and think of the size of the player base compared to League. It's honestly dumb not to make a League movie, especially considering how well League does in China. They're missing huge amounts of cash, and the brand won't take a hit. Resident Evil movies are terrible but the games are still good and people still buy them.

Oelyk4/3/2017, 2:16:07 AM2 votes

I would be down for comics though. That would be better.

Arakadia4/2/2017, 10:51:17 PM2 votes

I disagree, why can't you do something like the Ionian invasion? Once the invasion is over, so is the movie. It's not like your obligated to do every plot.

Earthlord Jazz4/3/2017, 2:33:47 AM1 votes

Every point you've made is precisely why Riot SHOULD make a movie

  1. "There is no story progress in League": This is precisely WHY Riot intentionally disconnected lore from gameplay. And no matter how salty I am about the retcon, the fact is that Riot is going with it and the playerbase should support story progression in any form, else we gain nothing from the retcon. As of now, lore seems to be very tedious and nothing APPEARS to be progressing. This is because Riot is still in the process of the retcon and are fleshing out the champions and nation-states in order to reflect a DYANAMIC world. I see no reason why Riot, as a company, should not take advantage of this now open world and expand on areas in which they have already 'fixed'. They will make a lot of money (as a company should) while providing progression, something all true loremongers desire. Questions will be answered, and conclusions will be made, but if I know Riot as well as I think I do, more questions will arise from a movie adaption and Nasus the cycle of life and death continues...

  2. "It is too vast": The lore behind Middle Earth is far beyond what the casual observer believes it to be, but that didn't stop some of the best movies being created. I say the same for Runterra. And as for your comment on how they would never be able tie up every separate story, who said they needed to? They've done such an immaculate job on every faction that several movies could be BASED on just a single one alone. Like imagine fi they made Burning Tides a movie? That'd be incredible and there's plenty of action and intrigue in it to leave the customers both satisfied and wanting more. My point is that movies do not need to tie in EVERY character arc together as this isn't subspace emissary from Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Riot's world is large enough where separate arks can be held in the already fleshed-out factions that still provide a lot of content and most importantly PROGRESSION for loremongers.

  3. "It's perfectly fine the way it is": I can't argue with this. I too am fine with how Riot is providing lore. However, as they are a company I can see why they want to expand their field. Not to mention, they can make movies for lore that they've already done, such as Burning Tides (which was an incredible read). I am always amazed at their cinematics and would be enthralled if they made a full movie on this.

Perhaps the biggest point I'm trying to make here is that, no matter how much players want it to be so, LORE and GAMEPLAY are disconnected. What drew me into League originally was the fact that I, a summoner, was participating in the politics and actions in Valoran. But now this is no longer the case. The argument Riot made was that now they could expand on a lore that was otherwise stagnant (heroes of mine such as Cupcake Trap and many others said otherwise but what's done is done). If the playerbase doesn't go along with lore progression, they loremongers have gained nothing and lost everything. Movies are just a new avenue for Riot to flex their muscles and I'd love to see what they make.

Thoughts?

ArbiterOfTruth4/3/2017, 3:56:30 AM1 votes

I think there is potential. The movie(s) could cover things we know happened, but don't have the details such as Ancient Freljord where the Iceborn fight off the Watchers.

Papa Andrei4/3/2017, 5:50:16 AM1 votes

I say go the route of FF15 animated shorts,

Toplane Fencer4/3/2017, 5:57:48 AM1 votes

I don't see the problem with a movie about only 2 or 3 champions. You could make a great fantasy movie about the battle for freljord for instance.

BLACK REALM GOD4/3/2017, 6:02:02 AM1 votes

besides everything you said - the lore has been changed 6000000 times. (slight exaggeration) and is likely to keep changing. in other words if they were to make a movie about just the lore it would be all over the place. like... everywhere. everywhere.

at best they could do a mini-series that explains each champions purpose in the league.

DrCyanide4/3/2017, 6:14:55 AM1 votes

While I generally agree with the "no movie" stance, I feel like there is a very comparable counterpart: the Comic Book Movie.

Comic Book Movies were viewed as a pretty big flop until the last 10 years or so, with a ton of characters (both heros and villains) to pick from, a ton of open ended story arcs that flow into one another, and never being able to actually kill a main character. Bad delivery or poor focus also hurt the movies.

And yet, look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe today. By laying groundwork movies that were alright, Marvel has been able to pick and choose characters to pull together from all over. They've also stitched them together just right so that while watching one movie helps understand another it's not vital to.

So if Riot was to do a movie, they'd probably spend a ton of time narrowing their focus into several small movies, around champions that aren't going to see a drastic visual update anytime soon, and around lore that they can agree will stay cannon. Like someone else said, it should probably be pretty clear who will be the stars of the movie, so people don't hope to see their main in it only to be let down.

Cookiehime4/3/2017, 6:15:22 AM1 votes

A TV show or cartoon could be nice. They could work on 2-3 conflicts in the first season and the remaining conflicts in the next.

420 grams4/3/2017, 6:25:53 AM1 votes

The abridged of sword art online is beautiful

Anonymous Alias4/3/2017, 9:28:27 AM1 votes

It's gonna be like crappy Percy Jackson where everything happens at once

DarkPh0enix4/3/2017, 12:58:51 PM1 votes

I would LOVE an animated series. Why? Because I love League.

Yes, it would be long.

Yes, it would cost a lot to make.

But damn it, I want to see my favorite champions in action and increase their characters.

sirwaterfles4/3/2017, 5:42:05 PM1 votes

I think the bilgewater story would make a good movie. A league movie doesnt have to contain every single league charactar. League universe is vast and divers and a lot of champs got nothing to do with each other so it is possible to film a story of one champ or one event like for instance gp that gets knocked down as the king of bilge, a single exploit of garen , the story of zac, .... The last x-men movie logan was a good movie set in the xmen world without having to tell the entire story, being the end of all conflict in the xmen world or to include every single xman.

All this being said im not a huge fan of the movie idea as almost all movie adaptation of games sucked hard

Jeanne fan club4/3/2017, 8:35:21 PM1 votes

Honestly I think a lot of the story should be left to interpretation, kind of like the dark souls story where some parts are recorded history while other gaps are up for speculation.

Glory ln Death4/3/2017, 10:45:30 PM1 votes

I disagree a little with the idea that a movie has to reach a "final conclusion" or that it would have to encompass the entirety of the League universe. It could very easily be something along the lines of the Marvel universe - lots of "small" stories of heroes told individually with ties connecting them to the larger universe.

We could get Mrs. Fortune's story as one movie, then Yorick's or Garen's as another, then the Shurima story, etc. And they don't have to reach the "final, epic conclusion". We could get a story of Garen fighting to defend a Frontier town from a Noxian invasion led by Darius - they fight, they drive back the Noxian and save the town... for now.

Legacy Hydralpha4/3/2017, 12:54:25 AM1 votes

If Riot made a movie, it could be of an event that already happened or a very open-ended movie that doesn't really end a story. Maybe a movie about a war between Demacia and Noxus that doesn't lead to any main characters or champions dying.

Khadaver4/3/2017, 2:03:01 AM1 votes

In my opinion, it could end up decently. Since there is no real story progression except in lore, no one can be too upset about stories being reshaped. On top of the previous point, it could give more depth into lore that has already been put out of not yet revealed.

Gehco4/3/2017, 2:09:57 AM1 votes

I want Quentin Tarantino to direct a league movie so we can see feet, feet and more feet.

Nunu

Placentas4/3/2017, 2:10:04 AM1 votes

If they ever went live action I would want HBO to pick it up. I think HBO does well with most shows and what they did with GoT was pretty great imo.

However I would think something like where they dedicate maybe an episode or two to different story lines.

Would love to see a live action hour long of Burning Tides, or like three 1 hour long episodes. And then the same for Shurima, Demacia, etc.

But I do think the best option as others have stated are short animations. Riot has commented how hiring the voice actors can be tricky and expensive so this also has to be taken into account I think. Personally I wouldn't want anyone to voice a character in the animation who doesn't voice the character in the game.

WolfBV4/3/2017, 2:32:18 AM1 votes

Could probably make a movie about the Frozen Watchers being thrown into the Howling Abyss.