Famed Indiana Jones director Steven Spielberg is a longtime Call of Duty fan — and even tried to adapt the FPS series into a movie. That’s according to a report from Matthew Belloni of Puck.news. But apparently, Activision wasn’t having it, as Spielberg wanted full creative control and final say, which it saw as the dealbreaker. Instead of gambling on Hollywood’s biggest director, the company chose Paramount’s safer pitch, one that offered Activision far more oversight and control.
But here’s the thing. Spielberg doesn’t need Call of Duty; he already helped create another great FPS franchise: Medal of Honor.
Back in 1999, Spielberg’s DreamWorks Interactive developed and, with Electronic Arts’s help, published the first Medal of Honor for PlayStation. He personally oversaw the game’s concept and script while still riding the wave of his WWII masterpiece, Saving Private Ryan. It came jam-packed with archival footage and mission objectives that read like declassified orders. The result was a shooter that balanced entertainment with a somber reflection on history — something today’s blockbuster war games barely manage to do. His vision for this FPS wasn’t about glorifying war, but about educating players on the realities of it.
That’s what makes Medal of Honor a better fit for Spielberg’s directorial hand than Call of Duty. His war films, whether it’s Saving Private Ryan, Empire of the Sun, or War Horse, are not flag-waving spectacles. They’re anti-war at their core, humanizing soldiers and civilians while highlighting the trauma of conflict. Spielberg thrives when he can show the brutality of war as a cautionary tale, not as a recruitment propaganda tool.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty has become an empty shell of its former self. The early entries carried shades of authenticity — it was internally called ‘Medal of Honor Killer,’ after all. But by COD 4 onwards, the series leaned harder into military-themed popcorn spectacle. The AC-130 air support mission, defending Burger Town and the White House, the nonsensical ‘No Russian’ that seemed to be designed purely for shock value.
It doesn’t help that Call of Duty comes with a history of shady ties. Remington struck a secret deal to feature its ACR rifle in Modern Warfare 2, explicitly to build awareness among younger players, according to court documents. Activision also brought in ex-CIA executive Brian Bulatao as its CEO. And of course, who can forget the whitewashing of the Highway of Death incident in the 2019’s Modern Warfare remake. It’s basically ‘America, Heck Yeah’ on a loop, which is the opposite of Spielberg’s ethos.
That’s why the real tragedy isn’t that Spielberg’s COD pitch was rejected; it’s that no one has asked him to revisit Medal of Honor. Instead, Activision would rather choose Top Gun: Maverick‘s David Ellison because he offered the publisher much more control over the whole creative process. Probably to ensure no director could make a war movie without promoting the US military first.
Now imagine a Medal of Honor film adaptation with the same gravity as Saving Private Ryan. If EA has any sense, it should be preparing another reboot or reaching for the phone to open up a dialogue with Spielberg right now.
