Just Cause first surfaced on the PlayStation 2 in 2006, emerging as an ambitious open-world game with one of the largest explorable environments gamers had ever seen. It was an explosive title featuring acrobatic movement mechanics, intense combat sequences, and a thrilling story that saw players assume control of the enigmatic, charismatic hero, Rico Rodriguez.
In 2010, a follow-up title was released, with a third dropping in 2015. In 2018, Just Cause 4 – the most recent game in the series – was released, but sadly it was the worst-received game in the franchise thus far.
Now, it has been confirmed that after almost twenty years on the market, Just Cause is getting a live-action adaptation.
Enter Rico
Rico Rodriguez is one of the most capable characters in gaming history. Armed with innovative gadgets including a grapple hook, jetpack, wingsuit, and portable rocket thrusters – among many other things – Rodriguez swings, soars, and shoots his way across a different theatre of war in every game. He’s what I’d affectionately call a ‘toppler’ charged with freeing nations from tyrannical dictators, usually working hand-in-hand with rebels and revolutionaries.
It was recently confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that a Just Cause movie is in production – but it has been trying to gain traction for more than a decade. The license has changed hands numerous times, finally landing in the lap of Universal Pictures and getting propelled forward with much more urgency, given the recent success of live-action adaptations of video games.
Reportedly, Kelly McCormick and David Leitch (The Fall Guy) are on hand to produce the movie, working hand-in-hand with Dmitri Johnson, Mike Goldberg, and Timothy Stevenson, who combined have worked on Tomb Raider and Sonic the Hedgehog. It’ll be directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, who was recently credited for heading up Blue Beetle.
The big question is: who can play Rico Rodriguez? Some names have been lobbied in the past, from Javier Bardem to Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and from Pedro Pascal to Diego Luna. To be honest, it’ll probably go to Chris Pratt.
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