Apocalypse Now Video Game Hits Kickstarter With Cooperation From Francis Ford Coppola

Though movies based on video games still have a long way to go, video games based on popular films have been on the uptick, with recent entries like Alien: Isolation, Mad Max, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor proving that adaptations can be done right with just a little care. And if Francis Ford Coppola has anything to say about it, Apocalypse Now will join those ranks soon enough.

It was recently announced that Coppola's American Zoetrope film studio has begun development on a video game based on the director's iconic war film. To solidify the effort, the studio has forged a partnership with video game veterans like executive producer Lawrence Liberty (Fallout: New Vegas and Witcher 3), writer Rob Auten (Gears of War), and Josh Sawyer, the design director at Obsidian Entertainment (the studio behind South Park: The Stick of Truth and Fallout: New Vegas). Instead of going through a typical video game studio for funding, the team is going the Kickstarter route and is looking to raise $900,000 by February 24, 2017. In a statement, Coppola wrote:

“Forty years ago, I set out to make a personal art picture that could hopefully influence generations of viewers for years to come. Today, I’m joined by new daredevils, a team who want to make an interactive version of Apocalypse Now, where you are Captain Benjamin Willard amidst the harsh backdrop of the Vietnam War. I’ve been watching video games grow into a meaningful way to tell stories, and I’m excited to explore the possibilities for Apocalypse Now for a new platform and a new generation.”

The game is being touted as a first-person RPG with physiological horror elements, rather than a typical run-and-gun shooter à la Call of Duty. The player will take command of Martin Sheen's character, Captain Benjamin Willard, as he traverses the jungles of Vietnam in order to confront Colonel Kurtz. Supplies will be limited, ammo will be scarce, and enemies will be unavoidable.

With a pledge of $35 or more, you'll get a digital copy of the game. As the donations go up, so do the incentives, with "Making Of" documentaries, digital novels set in the Apocalypse Now universe, and trinkets like dossiers and dog tags being included with larger sums. If you're really invested in the game, at $10,000 you can get a tour of the Coppola Family Archives.

Not much more information is known about the game, but if the funding goes through, you can expect it sometime in 2020.