The worlds of gaming and movies have long been intricately linked. All the way in the 90s, there was a film made based on the Nintendo hit Super Mario Bros. Last year, we saw films based on the legendary tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons and another Super Mario Bros film headlined by Chris Pratt.

But the relationship goes both ways. Today, the amount of Hollywood actors in video games is enough to heat debates about whether or not video games should go back to hiring qualified voice and motion capture actors. Emmy-winning actress Jodie Comer and David Harbour of Stranger Things fame are set to make their video game debuts in a remake of a 1992 horror video game, Alone in the Dark. In the past few years, the futuristic game Cyberpunk 2077 made headlines for having characters played by Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba.

Meanwhile, games based on films continue to be a pop culture intersection for gaming nerds and movie lovers alike. In a previous post, we discussed the many Lord of the Rings adaptations, including video game titles like the recently released The Lord of the Rings: Gollum — a solo campaign where players can experience Tolkien’s world from Gollum’s perspective — and The Lord of the Rings Online, which is regarded as one of the best multiplayer games on the market since its release in 2007.

We can certainly expect more film releases in the future that are linked to or heavily based on video games. While it’ll be challenging to predict those, we’ll share some instances below where movies and gaming have collided:

League of Legends — Live-action adaptation

One of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games on the market today, League of Legends (LoL) has a dedicated and loyal player base. This is also fueled by the game’s long-standing eSports scene, where teams from global regions compete against each other throughout various tournaments annually. As outlined by these LoL betting tips, the LoL eSports scene can be divided into the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the World Championship (LoL Worlds), which carry the most consequences for determining team rankings and prize winnings.

Since the first-ever LoL tournament in 2011, the eSports scene has grown into passionate fans, players, and bettors who try to engage as actively as possible in the community. Another aspect boosting LoL’s popularity is its exploration of other media. In 2021, Netflix released an animated steampunk series based on characters from League of Legends. The massive success of this series has garnered hype among long-time fans for a potential and long-awaited live adaptation of the game, which features over 167 characters.

Valorant — The Family Plan

A more recent entry to gaming and movies is tactical first-person shooter Valorant. Released in 2020 by the same developers of League of Legends, the game quickly rose to fame among gamers, fans, and content creators. Like LoL, Valorant’s fame promptly led to official tournaments, giving rise to a thriving eSports scene enjoyed by fans worldwide. Aside from spending hours playing Valorant, teams, and fans unite in official eSports events throughout the year to determine the best Valorant team in the world.

Valorant’s first on-screen cameo is a standout among most other “gaming in film” instances. In The Family Plan, an action-comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, viewers are given first-person insight into the Valorant eSports scene, where Wahlberg’s on-screen son is a professional player. The film also featured real-life Valorant content creators Valkyrae and iiTzTimmy, who competed alongside the character in a fictional Valorant tournament. This cameo and storyline involving the game earned praise from the player base as it did a good job of showing the excitement and pressure that pro eSports players experience.

Fortnite — Avengers: Endgame

Finally, another video game with a major pop culture presence is Fortnite. This may be because the game’s ecosystem relies on various pop culture entities and figures. Today, players can choose from various playable character skins to battle it out in Fortnite’s colorful maps. This ranges from Dragon Ball’s Goku to EDM artist Marshmello and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thanos.

The latter mention is crucial, as before the character skin was available in-game, Fortnite made a fun cameo in the last Avengers movie, Endgame. In several scenes, a depressed Thor can be seen playing the game using a controller. Fans initially poked fun at the cameo as the events depicted in the film were set in 2023 (the film was released in 2019), and the game no longer had the original Fortnite map shown in Thor’s comedic scenes. However, as a coincidental — or is it? — plot twist: Fortnite did end up bringing back the game’s original map in 2023, much to fans’ surprise and delight.