Call of Duty Star Sets Sights on Taylor Sheridan Movie Role

So, here's a cool bit of crossover between video games and Hollywood: Y'lan Noel, who gamers will instantly recognize as the face of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops entries, is very much open to stepping into the upcoming Call of Duty movie — which, by the way, has Taylor "Yellowstone" Sheridan himself on board. That's not a typo, it's really him. Sheridan's writing and producing, and Peter Berg (the guy behind Lone Survivor and Friday Night Lights) is directing. Yeah, this is actually happening.

Noel Already Feels Like He's in the Franchise

If you played Black Ops 6 or 7, you know Noel as Troy Marshall — CIA agent, cover star, and apparently, a hero to his younger cousins. Asked about joining the movie, Noel said the interest is real. He basically summed it up like this:

"I mean, I did the video game. My face is on the cover of the video game. Why wouldn't I hop into that territory, too, if that's what was meant to be? ... It's fun. And I think that that was the job that got me the most kudos with my younger cousins, being in a Call of Duty, bro. They don't care about the plays and all the other stuff. 'You in a video game? All right, cuz, you got it.'"

Honestly, hard to argue with that logic. If your actual face is splashed across the Call of Duty box art, you've kind of earned a shot at being in the movie.

Who's Troy Marshall Again?

Just to catch anyone up who hasn't been following Call of Duty lore:

• First appeared in Black Ops 6 as a leading member of a CIA squad investigating the shadowy paramilitary group Pantheon. The story left things on a cliffhanger.
• Came back for Black Ops 7, but now he's a battle-hardened Colonel in the far-off year of 2035, leading 'Specter One.' The timeline skips over four decades of Marshall's life, so there's plenty of room for a cinematic prequel, side story, or whatever weird timeline juggling Hollywood comes up with.

Movie Details: The Big Guns, And What We Don't Know

So here's where things go from 'maybe that could be fun' to 'Hollywood is betting real money on this.' Taylor Sheridan is co-writing and co-producing with Peter Berg directing. They've even locked in a release date: June 30, 2028. But before you start casting the rest of the squad, there's a big unanswered question — are they adapting a specific game, or just doing some generic military mayhem and slapping the Call of Duty name on it?

No word on that yet. If they go the faithful adaptation route, it makes sense for them to consider Y'lan Noel's Troy Marshall — especially since he's already their guy from the latest very popular story arc. But if they just want an original generic action script, all bets are off.

Movie video game adaptations don't exactly have a stellar track record, but this combo of creative talent definitely makes it one to watch. And honestly, it'd be weird bordering on foolish to ignore the one actor who already has his face seared into gamers' brains — especially when he actually wants in.