Sea of Thieves levels up to live-action with Spider-Man: Brand New Day director at the helm
Sea of Thieves is setting sail for Hollywood. Destin Daniel Cretton, the filmmaker behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is steering a live-action take on Xbox’s 2018 open-world hit.
Fancy another video game adaptation, are we? Well, Xbox has just lobbed its pirate sandbox, Sea of Thieves, straight into the live-action movie pipeline – and they’ve roped in a bit of a superhero specialist to make it happen.
Who's Running This Pirate Ship?
It’s Destin Daniel Cretton pulling the strings on this one – yes, that Destin Daniel Cretton. If his name sounds familiar, you might’ve caught him behind the camera for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. And if you’re tapped into the next Spider-Verse flick (for what feels like the fiftieth Spider-Man reboot), he’s onboard that too, with Tom Holland back in the red and blue.
For Sea of Thieves, Cretton isn’t directing as it stands – he’s set to produce through his production outfit, Hisako. And, charmingly, there hasn’t been a word yet about who will actually take the director's chair, which is always fun for project announcements.
Quick Refresher – What Is Sea of Thieves?
Developed by the weirdly beloved Rare and published by Xbox Game Studios, Sea of Thieves debuted back in 2018. It's an online game, 'live-service' if you want to sound clever, where you mess about as a pirate. Expect ships, loot, skeletons, and far too many crewmates who have absolutely no idea how to steer.
- Originally just on Xbox and PC, but sailed onto PlayStation 5 in 2024
- Giant open world, heavy on co-op, always one eye on the treasure
- Core gameplay: Pirate roleplay, mischief, and not enough gold
Xbox’s Cinematic Gold Rush
Sea of Thieves isn’t Xbox’s only foray into film and TV at the moment. After last year’s surprisingly not-terrible Minecraft movie, there’s a sequel heading our way with the creatively titled A Minecraft Movie Squared. Netflix is also cashing in with both an animated Minecraft series and a double-whammy of Gears of War adaptations (one live-action, one animated). And, because nobody wants to be left out, Amazon’s working up a live-action Wolfenstein TV show.
Release Date? Not Yet
If you were expecting to circle a date in your calendar, you’ll have to lower anchor. There’s no official release window for the Sea of Thieves movie yet – and, let’s be honest, until there’s a director, it’s all a bit ‘wait and see’.
One person involved summed up the approach as 'a massive, fun, swashbuckling adventure' for the big screen. I mean, what else would it be?