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Metroid Movie Samus Aran Backstory: Yay or Lame?


jezon2000
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THIS IS NOT FOR ANY KIND OF OFFICIAL METROID MOVIE: I'M JUST LOOKING FOR OPINIONS ON A "WHAT IF" SCENARIO

I've always thought Metroid had more potential than most games to be a film. The problem is, I've always been afraid the people who make it would fuck it up. One problem is kind of how Metroid might actually play out on screen if a director doesn't have a proper vision for it. Usually when I listen to Relics of the Chozo or the Metroid Orchestral Concert, I get to thinking a Metroid movie done right could be the coolest shit ever.

But of all the stupid shit you can get into an argument about, I got to talking to my friend about Samus' 'chanonical' backstory--where her parents are killed by Space Pirates and she is "raised by Chozo", more or less. I thought that if Metroid was ever made into a movie this backstory would need tweaking for coolness. It's cool if Samus' parents get killed by Space Pirates I guess (though it's still kind of cliche--If you've read anything from the Metroid comic and Samus' parents on K-2L, I think you might agree something like that would be the cheesiest thing in the history of cinema), but one thing I thought was ABSOLUTELY LAME is Samus being raised by Chozo. I cannot seriously imagine Samus growing up with fucking alien parents. I always thought the Chozo were cool, but that's partly because they're always statues, and they're a super-advanced alien race that humans know almost nothing about who have abandoned the galaxy and have left only derelict ruins. No doubt, the Chozo having some role in Samus' past, infusing her with DNA, etc, could be cool--but as parent/teacher figures? I am wondering what other Metroid fans think.

1) Do you think Samus being raised by Chozo is essentially a lame sci-fi rip off of the backstory for Jungle Book with aliens instead of wolves, and a Metroid movie would need a cooler/less cliche backstory?

or

2) Do you think Samus Aran being raised by Chozo is awesome?

I would post a poll, but... they're disabled.

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Samus coming from a human colony but being raised by the chozo would probably make a legit backstory. You have her separation from her family at the beginning, and then her growth in a decidedly alien environment. One could even explore how through interactions with the chozo, her mentality on life begins to reflect that of the Chozo instead of that of a regular human.

Besides, with Chozo blood being injected into her veins later, she pretty much becomes more alien than human in the long-run.

That being said, I don't think Metroid would make a great movie necessarily because a lot of movies rely on character development/interaction. Metroid's always been a game about isolation and adventuring alone. I've always thought the worlds in Metroid were the real draw and not necessarily Samus as a character, but that could just be me.

I really don't see many of Nintendo's major franschises translating well to the silver screen. Earthbound might have potential but I think that's stretching it still.

Actually, Earthbound as a quasi-high budget Indie film I think would be pretty badass.

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Actually, after looking at pics of Earthbound characters, I'm pretty certain the only way to pull it off would be claymation.

Earthbound the anime might have potential, but for some reason, I saw glimpses of the four heroes doing a dance during the end credits of each episode like the choreography to Haruhi Suzumiya.

*shudders*

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Samus coming from a human colony but being raised by the chozo would probably make a legit backstory. You have her separation from her family at the beginning, and then her growth in a decidedly alien environment. One could even explore how through interactions with the chozo, her mentality on life begins to reflect that of the Chozo instead of that of a regular human.

Besides, with Chozo blood being injected into her veins later, she pretty much becomes more alien than human in the long-run.

That being said, I don't think Metroid would make a great movie necessarily because a lot of movies rely on character development/interaction. Metroid's always been a game about isolation and adventuring alone. I've always thought the worlds in Metroid were the real draw and not necessarily Samus as a character, but that could just be me.

I really don't see many of Nintendo's major franschises translating well to the silver screen. Earthbound might have potential but I think that's stretching it still.

Actually, Earthbound as a quasi-high budget Indie film I think would be pretty badass.

Yeah... good call. I've always felt the same way about the world being the draw, and my ideas about a movie always centred around that. In fact that's probably the reason I hated Samus' backstory in the first place. I've never really ever seen her in my mind as being anything but isolated.

Also, I definitely hear people saying they wouldn't want to see Metroid as a movie. All game adaptations pretty much are universally bad, but still... maybe I'm just itching for a more cinemative remake of Super Metroid.

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I've always felt that if Metroid were to be done right, it would have to be something really unique and artsy to pull off the feeling of isolation necessary to capture the vibe of the game.

I've always pictured it highly visual, and almost entirely devoid of dialog. Kinda maybe like a darker, more grownup version of the first half of WALL-E.

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I'm not opposed to her being raised by Chozo, but I never much cared for the whole infused-with-Chozo-DNA thing. I guess it kind of detracts from the character and the technology of the suit for me.

I, personally, would rather it not be made into a movie. There's far too much that could go wrong for me to even have a glimmer of hope for the final product.

But what would be cool would be an animated series like Samurai Jack, or Clone Wars. Little to no dialogue, short episodes (missions) full of awesome action, crazy monsters and stunning alien landscapes. A sleek visual style to boot.

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I read the manga that's all about Samus's past... the best part about it is the "so THAT'S how it happened!" factor. But simply telling Samus's life story from the start would make a really bad movie.

Everyone knows Metroid just isn't Metroid without isolation... yet Samus doesn't experience such isolation until the first Metroid game happens. I don't think a Metroid movie will ever work, and if one is ever made it will probably suck... but I typed up a decent movie premise that's basically the "best case scenario" for me... mashing up the good parts from the manga backstory with the unique feel and atmosphere of Metroid games:

It starts out following Samus's life as a bounty hunter, in an uneasy world plagued by increasing Space Pirate activity and the possibility of war. It's apparent that tensions have been mounting for a long time. The relationships between the Space Pirates, Samus, the Galactic Federation, and the Chozo are established as Samus takes on another assignment. The story up to this point is more about the characters' political viewpoints than anything else - but Samus seems quite distanced from it all, just hunting bounty for a living. By this point we've already seen Samus kicking ass and are aware of her suit's powers, and the fact she was raised by the Chozo - but we know very little about her (besides her personality, or at least how she acts towards the other characters).

Suddenly things go very wrong. Samus gets back from her latest hunt for bounty (or is unable to finish), and is informed that a Metroid(s) has been stolen by the Space Pirates. A rushed meeting is held to explain the gravity of the situation and what the heck a "metroid" is, and soon Samus takes off for Zebes.

From this point on, starting with an overly long and uneventful flight to planet Zebes, Samus is completely isolated. The rest of the movie is about 30% Samus's journey and battles on Zebes, and 70% flashbacks of Samus's life. The flashbacks are in chronological order, and hit on a lot of different events... some important, some not as important. I'm gonna be making up a lot of crap as I go along here, but hey, it's fun ^_^

Before Samus arrives at Zebes, the flashbacks have recounted the day her parents died (but from Samus's point of view). This would play out exactly like the manga pretty much: the hooded Chozo are meeting with the planet's workers (lead by Samus's father), Samus and Old Bird chat it up, and then the Chozo leave and Samus goes back to find that bunny creature. When the distant explosions and fires start, Samus doesn't quite get what's going on because she's only three. Pirate spacecraft can be seen from a distance, and Ridley arrives, but the flashback decidedly stops before Samus and Ridley meet - Samus clearly doesn't want to think about that right now.

Samus lands the ship, heads underground (she looks like she knows exactly where she's going), but then she's stopped by several dead ends, and finally an unfamiliar elevator. After a bit more exploring and dead ends she goes back to the elevator (and then on the elevator), and it takes her deep underground. A quick flashback shows the aftermath of her meeting with Ridley, where Old Bird spots her by chance and takes her under his wing (so to speak).

When the flashback ends, she's standing in the iconic "first room" from Metroid. Samus casually shoots some dangerous-looking Zoomers (well, dangerous to anyone but Samus), and goes into the room with the Morph Ball. Some stuff happens and somehow her suit gets the power to morph into a ball - this is never explained, and the visuals don't answer any questions. Samus explores some more without the movie skipping a moment, until she reaches the first Chozo statue (with a missile expansion?) - and another flashback starts.

3-year old Samus is on Zebes, and it's the scene from the manga where the Chozo introduce her to Mother Brain.... "It's ok Samus. It won't harm you. It's the computer interface that oversees this planet." 11 years pass, and the flashback continues much like the manga.

The rest of the movie has a lot of different flashbacks, inluding events from the manga (but far from all of it!), and maybe some events NOT from the manga. Samus's encounters with Ridley are detailed (including the one from her childhood), and also her encounters with Mother Brain. Ridley and Mother Brain are built up as the badass evil villians they are in the manga, Samus's life-changing events are shown (especially the ones that change her attitude and reveal the origin of her suit), and the impending war and political tensions are touched on as well.

In the meantime, it shows Samus doing stuff on Zebes, including:

- Samus getting utterly lost at one point (checking out her map and getting confused, falling into traps, getting ambushed by strange creatures, etc.) Probably in Kraid's Lair, because that place is hell in the original Metroid.

- A battle with Kraid (spoiler: Samus wins)

- At least a couple not-dangerous-looking action-y or fast explore-y sequences with accompanying melodic Metroid music (think Green Brinstar from Super Metroid, or Kraid's Lair from Metroid). Like a montage, but without the constant time skips.

- At least a few slow and eerily silent moments... a good candidate would be the part where you enter Ridley's Lair through a giant freaky-looking alien dinosaur head sculpture, and nothing happens other than Samus's spirit being crushed ;p

Anyway, every time it goes back to Samus's adventure, her suit is a bit more powerful, or has some new special weapons or abilities, and for the most part enemy creatures don't threaten her life.

At some point in Ridley's lair, a flashback begins... and ends abruptly when Ridley flies in out of nowhere, catching Samus off-guard. They fight (and probably exchange words, if Ridley can speak English in the movie), and Samus takes a massive beating, but eventually kills Ridley in a fashion that allows him to be "rebuilt" later. Samus discovers an energy tank in the next room, and then there's one final flashback to inspire some emotion in Samus and in the audience (Anger? Courage? Determination? Hope? Fear? All of the above?) - and as the flashback ends, Samus takes off, running and climbing and jumping and shooting and screw-attacking without slowing down, all the way up to Tourian in a single uncut sequence of shots. TOO EPIC!! emot-swoon.gif

Finally Samus takes the elevator down to Tourian... gee, I've got nothing. Metroids turn out to be the most powerful enemy Samus has faced so far, Samus unloads missiles at layer after layer of regenerating "zebetite" walls that encase the Mother Brain... the room with the Mother Brain (formerly a huge wide open room walled with carved stone) is now a cramped nightmarish tunnel walled with tubes and guns... that's all I've got.

Yep. Remind me to never do that again :<

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Back when I was in high school, I wrote a potential movie of Samus Aran's origin, I remember fondly doing the scene where Samus' father is flying a ship their in, him trying to get it to crash it "safely", and after the landing, keeps the blast doors closed (a large explosion happens after they land), he sacrifices himself for them.

The Chozo arrive to late to help fight the pirates, they find Samus' mom and her in the ship, they take the both of them, but as they walk away, a captured space pirate pulls out a gun and shoots Samus' mother, killing her.

A particular Chozo elder takes her with him.

Yeah, that's the only fan fiction I've ever really written, I never really finished the story, and I lost it at that.....

As far as an origin movie, if they casted the right girl, had a competent director, then I'd be willing to see it.

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^ tl;dr.

But I think the more backstory they give Samus, the more it fucks up the draw of the series as a whole. The reason she as a character was and is popular is because you know almost nothing about her. You didn't even know she was a female 'til the end of the first game. Her mystery, the blank that is her past, is what makes her popular as a character. You're always adsking "What's her motivation? Why does she do what she does?" Incidentally, I went and saw Wolverine yesterday, and I think that exact same fact is one of the reason's HE has been one of the most enduringly popular comic book characters in history. They keep removing more and more of the mystery behind who Samus is, and concurrently removing the reason for interest in their character.

But the other draw to Metroid has always been that you are ALONE. No one to help you, no calling in airstrikes, you are ALONE. I feel they really began to change that with Metroid Fusion, which was little more than a constant stream of "Receive orders, carry out orders, and do it just so." You were told exactly where to go for every moment of that game, and it ripped the heart out of the exploration aspect. It wasn't as bad in Corruption years later, but the constant presence of the GF and all the PEOPLE talking to you just ruined the flavor.

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The beauty of her character lies in the mystery. The more that is stated as definite fact, the more they're gonna mess her up. I really liked Super Metroid. I disliked Fusion and ZM. Fusion gave us Adam, Fusion gave us too much details on Samus' stay with the Chozo. Samus' backstory, her motives, all that, should only be hinted at in a movie... or in the games, for that matter. :-x

A movie would probably have to delve into her backstory, tho, and I doubt Hollywood's big studios are gonna make a solitary Wall-e version of Metroid - which btw would be awesome, and I loved Wall-e's solitary exploration and non-verbal expressions. I instantly thoughgt of how that would work for Metroid. But in Hollywood? Almost the entire movie? Without a comic sidekick? Or Ridley quoting Shakespeare and twirling his moustache while he explains how he's gonna kill Samus and what Mother Brain's great plan is and how Samus, if alive, could stop it...? No.

Movie, no thank you... unless I get to write and direct it. ;)

Most of us seem to agree about the need for solitude and mystery, and that Metroid, if done right, would be pwnsome. Too bad that's not gonna happen. :(

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I'm not opposed to her being raised by Chozo, but I never much cared for the whole infused-with-Chozo-DNA thing. I guess it kind of detracts from the character and the technology of the suit for me.

I, personally, would rather it not be made into a movie. There's far too much that could go wrong for me to even have a glimmer of hope for the final product.

But what would be cool would be an animated series like Samurai Jack, or Clone Wars. Little to no dialogue, short episodes (missions) full of awesome action, crazy monsters and stunning alien landscapes. A sleek visual style to boot.

I agree with that, a samuraijackish style would be very cool and fit the series well.

ALSO. your sig is completely devoid of sidecat. wtf.

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I'm not opposed to her being raised by Chozo, but I never much cared for the whole infused-with-Chozo-DNA thing. I guess it kind of detracts from the character and the technology of the suit for me.

I, personally, would rather it not be made into a movie. There's far too much that could go wrong for me to even have a glimmer of hope for the final product.

But what would be cool would be an animated series like Samurai Jack, or Clone Wars. Little to no dialogue, short episodes (missions) full of awesome action, crazy monsters and stunning alien landscapes. A sleek visual style to boot.

GAWD THIS. I don't get why they can't picture video game translations into movies/shows to be like these. That new Shadow of the Colossus movie I think would be awesome to be done in a Samurai Jack-ish style in terms of limited dialogue. I think a Samus backstory would work well in this way.

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GAWD THIS. I don't get why they can't picture video game translations into movies/shows to be like these. That new Shadow of the Colossus movie I think would be awesome to be done in a Samurai Jack-ish style in terms of limited dialogue. I think a Samus backstory would work well in this way.

Ugh, don't remind me that they're making a movie after Shadow of the Colossus. Lord knows I think Ico would've been better than that.

Don't get me wrong, I love the game but I think that would actually be WEAKER in movie form than a Metroid movie.

Although if Kow Otani is onboard for the SotC movie, I'll at least pick up the soundtrack.

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