Metroid Prime (film)

Metroid Prime is a 2011 computer-animated science fiction action-adventure film co-written and directed by Olivier Megaton, produced by Steve Starkey, Jack Rapke, and Nintendo and written by Steven Zaillian, Cameron Crowne, and Christopher McQuarrie. It was the sequel to Metroid (2008), the eighth film in the Nintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU), and stars the voices of an ensemble cast including Charlize Theron, Anthony Mackie, Mark Wahlberg, Pierce Brosnan, Bryce Dallas Howard, Edward Norton, Vin Diesel, Josh Brolin, Willem Dafoe, and Sigourney Weaver. The film follows Samus Aran after she is sent to rescue Galactic Federation Marines from a ship near Aether, a planet inhabited by a race known as the Luminoth. She discovers that the troops were slaughtered by the Ing, a hostile race that came from an alternate dimension of Aether. Samus must travel to four temples to ensure the destruction of the Ing, while battling the Ing, wild creatures, Space Pirates, and her mysterious doppelgänger Dark Samus.

After shooting the first film, Metroid Prime first entered development in early 2007 when Robert Richardson and Walter Murch wrote a screenplay and sold it to Universal Pictures. The film features homages and drew inspiration from previous entries, particularly the Metroid Prime trilogy. During pre-production, production struggled until Brosnan, Howard, Norton, Diesel, Brolin, and Megaton were hired by late 2008, and using Panavision Genesis camera, principal photography of the motion-capture sequences took place in Studio 21 of the Universal Studios backlot from October 2009 to until June 2010, which the film had wrapped. The live-action humans and bounty hunters were created using extensive visual effects and performance capture commissioned by Weta Digital, DNEG and Framestore.

Metroid Prime premiered in Tokyo on May 27, 2011, and was released in the United States on June 3, and in Japan on June 24, as the first film in Phase Two of the NCU. The film received praise for its acting and Megaton's direction, as well as the action sequences, visual effects, musical score, and humor, with many critics considering it to be the best installment of the Metroid films. It grossed $996 million, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 2011. It was followed by Metroid Prime – Hunters (2015).

Plot
Coming soon

Cast

 * Charlize Theron as Samus Aran, an intergalactic bounty hunter, and Dark Samus (motion-capture), Samus' evil doppelgänger.
 * Angelina Jolie as Dark Samus (voice)
 * Anthony Mackie as Anthony Higgs, an old acquaintance of Samus' and a member of her crew of bounty hunters.
 * Mark Wahlberg as Adam Malkovich (motion-capture)
 * Christoph Waltz as Adam Malkovich (voice)


 * Pierce Brosnan as Fleet Admiral Castor Dane, a high-ranking member of the Galactic Federation and the commander of the G.F.S. Olympus who recruits Samus and her crew.
 * Bryce Dallas Howard as Gandrayda, a member of Samus' crew of bounty hunters, and an alien of unknown origin who is capable of highly advanced shapeshifting and electrokinesis. Howard played the character's native alien form through voice and motion capture.
 * Edward Norton (motion-capture) as Ghor, a member of Samus' crew of bounty hunters, and a cybernetic alien capable of merging his body with a large armorsuit.
 * Jacob Tomuri as Ghor (voice)


 * Vin Diesel (voice and motion-capture) as Rundas, a member of Samus' crew of bounty hunters, and a Phrygisian, an alien capable of cryokinesis.
 * Willem Dafoe as Meta Ridley, the leader of the Space Pirates and Ridley's upgraded form.
 * Sigourney Weaver as Mother Brain

Development
In June 2007, after filming Metroid (2008), Universal Pictures had announced a June 3, 2011 release date for Nintendo's next film in the NCU. By this time, screenwriters Steven Zaillian, Cameron Crowne and Christopher McQuarrie had written several rejected versions of a script and Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the first film, was working on yet another attempt.

Original Film producer Neal M. Moritz was searching for a script idea. As Moritz eventually realized it fit the Metroid series, he called screenwriters Robert Richardson and Walter Murch to express his ideas of such a hunter eventually starting the future, and then the couple started developing the character of Sylux. Moritz indicated that "it's a reinvention" and if he had to pick between calling it a prequel or a reboot, he would actually say it is a sequel. He went on to say that "we tried really hard to create a story that would stand on its own and yet also pay homage and honor the movies that came before us." Moritz, Richardson and Murch then wrote a script and sold it to Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, distributors of the Fast & Furious film series and War of the Worlds (2005). The script added other elements which the couple had researched, such as genetic engineering. Several tributes to specific scenes, characters, and cast and crew from the previous Metroid series were added in the script. In particular, Samus' treatment at the primate sanctuary parallels Ridley's treatment as a captive in the original film.

Director Olivier Megaton commented on the originality of the plot, saying, "This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It's not a continuation of the other films; it's an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Transformers." In a 2009 interview, Megaton said, "We've incorporated elements from the Metroid series, in terms of how the Metroids begin to revolt, but this is primarily a prequel to the 2008 film... Sylux is a revolutionary figure who will be talked about by his fellow hunters for centuries... This is just the first step in the evolution of the Metroids, and there's a lot more stories to tell after this. I imagine the next film will be about the all-out war between the Metroids and the future." Edward Norton did an uncredited rewrite of the script.

Casting
In March 2009, The Hollywood Reporter said the actors who met with Megaton to be considered for the bounty hunters included Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hugh Jackman, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel, Bryce Dallas Howard, Edward Norton, and John Travolta. In April 2009 the Los Angeles Times reported that the shortlist had expanded to include Dwayne Johnson and Scarlett Johansson. At least Brolin, Diesel, Garfield, Norton and Howard had screen tests. On May 1, 2009, the choice of Howard, Norton, and Diesel was confirmed. Megaton stated that he felt he knew the three were the right choices when they were filming a cutscene where they were fighting the soldiers in the Alimbic Cluster. Diesel said that they got the roles as they decided to pretended to think they were doing auditioning for Metroid short film with friends to ease off the pressure.

It was reported originally that the film would feature Gandrayda, Ghor, Rundas, Spire, Noxus, Kanden, Trace and Weavel as bounty hunters, but the website The Wrap later reported that only Gandrayda, Ghor, and Rundas would appear. In June 2009, the list of candidates who accepted the role of Castor Dane included Tom Hanks, J.K. Simmons, and Mel Gibson, with Sylvester Stallone, Jeff Bridges, and Tommy Lee Jones cited by The Hollywood Reporter as "potentially in the mix". In July 2009, Variety reported that the shortlist had expanded to include Pierce Brosnan and Clancy Brown. The shortlist was reported to then include Dolph Lundgren, Mark Hamill and David Hasselhoff. On August 5, 2009, the choice of Brosnan was confirmed. Megaton noted that the chemistry between Wahlberg and Theron made her the clear choice. That chemistry inspired their off-screen romance.

On September 11, 2009, Brolin was confirmed to be the unnamed villain, and two days later his character was revealed to be Sylux. Shigeru Miyamoto said that Sylux is his favorite Metroid villain, and he had long wanted to use him in a film. Well before the choice of villain, Miyamoto had had conceptual drawings prepared for the character.

Filming
The film began shooting at Universal Studios backlot in Los Angles, California on October 26, 2009, and concluded on June 17, 2010.

Visual effects
The visual effects were provided by Weta Digital, DNEG and Framestore and supervised by Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, Nick Epstein, Raymond Chen and Nigel Denton-Howes. Weta Digital was the primary vendor for the Samus digital puppet, which required the company to redesign its motion capture methods to capture all the subtleties and complexities of Theron's performance.

Sequels
Main article: Metroid film series

Transcripts
Coming soon