Remember when Sony revealed in early 2025 that it was developing both Helldivers and Horizon movie adaptations? Well, the studio seems to have found the director and release date for the former, as well as an actor for the lead. According to Deadline, the Helldivers film is set for November 10, 2027, with Fast & Furious‘ Justin Lin directing and Jason Momoa leading the cast. It’s a standard announcement, but gamers immediately treated it like a setup for a joke.
Across social media, fans pitched versions of what they considered would be a faithful adaptation: one where Momoa doesn’t survive the movie’s introduction. Many imagined the Helldivers movie opened with a heroic Jason Momoa being instantly crushed by incoming Drop Pods.
“He going to get 5 minutes of screen time then a drop pod lands on him?” wrote justhomethanks on Reddit.
“I hope this mean that we see him completing the tutorial and enlisting right before be deployed and die after two minutes of fighting,” Bright_Audience3959 chimed in.
“PLEASE let him be a bait and switch tough guy that gets flattened before the first enemy encounter!” hoped @Kid_Kinobi on X.
Others suggested a revolving-door cast of celebrities dying one after another while new Helldivers constantly deploy. Something closer to a full-theatrical version of Deadpool 2‘s X-Force gag.
“gets dropped. dies in the first 2 minutes. new Helldiver drops in. it’s Chris Pratt,” joked @RiobasTayem.
simply_riley added, “maybe cycle through 100 celebrity cameos as divers drop in and die?”
For people unfamiliar with Arrowhead’s co-op shooter, those reactions might sound a bit over-the-top. But the Helldivers series has never been about heroic soldiers saving the day from evil bug aliens and robots. Instead, it’s the exact opposite. It’s a satire about propaganda, where disposable recruits deploy, yell about democracy, and explode almost immediately. Often, by stray fire from their own teammates.
So naturally, the idea of giving a Helldivers movie a recognizable lead through Jason Momoa triggered similar concern as Stallone’s Judge Dredd and Paramount’s Halo did. The series works because nobody is important, and survival mostly comes down to luck. Making Momoa’s character special risks missing the premise entirely.
