MGM stops production of Metro 2033 film

Production of the Metro 2033 film has been discontinued. This one would have the same story as the first book, on which the first Metro game is also based. Both the author and film producer MGM seem to have concluded that Metro’s story doesn’t work in an American setting.

In an interview with VG24/7, author Dmitry Glukhovsky reports that he has regained the rights to the film. MGM had acquired the film rights in 2012, two years after the release of the Metro 2033 game. Scriptwriter F. Scott Frazier wanted the story to be set in Washington DC’s subway system. The big problem, according to Glukhovsky, was that certain situations and themes from the book are very specific to the Moscow setting. In addition, the author was afraid that the story would become ‘too generic’ and, according to him, certain things simply do not work in the city of Washington.

“They were a little apprehensive about choosing Moscow as the setting because Americans have a reputation for only liking stories about America. Yet Metro Last Light and Metro 2033, the books and the games, have sold millions of copies worldwide. So it’s not inconceivable that people would want to see a story with a Moscow setting, partly because this is a unique selling point. We’ve seen the American version of the end of the world so many times and the audience that loves this genre doesn’t want to more of the same,” says Glukhovsky, explaining his view that a Metro film should be better set in Moscow.

The author is currently in talks with other producers. It is not yet known which producers these are. Metro Exodus will be released on February 22 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Screenshot from Metro 2033 (Xbox 360)