Remember me
Now that Peter Berg is confirmed as the director of the upcoming Call of Duty movie, the internet has turned its attention to the things he has said in the past that might offer clues as to his approach. One of the things the internet has unearthed is a 13-year-old interview in which he said some not very nice things about people who play video games — including those who play Call of Duty.
As spotted by ResetEra user Neat, Berg gave an interview to Esquire magazine back in December 2013 in which he explained why America needed to toughen up. This interview was conducted at a time when Berg was expressing concern that we had gone soft as a culture. Esquire called him “a Navy brat who took up boxing in his teens.” He had just helmed 2012 flop Battleship, but then followed it up a year later with the positively received Lone Survivor, an adaptation of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell's memoir, starring Mark Wahlberg.
At one point in the interview, Berg was asked for his take on “war video games.” He replied: “Pathetic. Pathetic. Keyboard courage. Can't stand it. The only people that I give a Call of Duty get-out-of-jail-free card to is the military. They're out there serving and they're bored and they want to entertain themselves? Okay, maybe. Kids? Uh-uh.”
Berg was then asked if Navy SEALs play those games. He replied: “Some of them do. But I tell them I think it's pathetic. I think anyone that sits around playing video games for four hours... It's weak. Get out, do something.”
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These comments are 13 years old, so perhaps Berg’s hardline view on video games has softened over the last decade. You’d imagine he didn’t say this stuff when it came to pitching for the Call of Duty movie gig, let’s put it that way. If he comes out with largely the same stance during the inevitable press tour for Call of Duty, perhaps he’ll have an issue. And you better believe he will be asked about these comments! But I imagine he’ll have a line on it. Perhaps he ended up trying Call of Duty himself and developed a newfound respect for the first-person shooter franchise?
Given the Call of Duty movie comes out June 30, 2028, Berg has plenty of time to get his story straight on “war video games.” Activision and Paramount, which are working on the film, have yet to say much of anything about what fans can expect. But we do have the official blurb, below:
Paramount and Activision are developing and producing, with Paramount distributing, a live-action feature film based on Call of Duty, designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences.One of the most successful video game entertainment franchises of all-time, Call of Duty has topped more than 1 billion players and generated over $35 billion in revenue over its lifetime while driving pop culture conversations for over two decades.At CinemaCon earlier this month, attendees were treated to a quick teaser for the movie, which featured game footage set to the tune of 'Seven Nation Army.' Berg appeared on camera saying he and co-scriptwriter Taylor Sheridan were working on the film. "Taylor and I are both deeply connected to the special ops community," he said, promising to capture the reality of the soldier's jobs "on a human level, but also bring amazing scale."
That’s all we know for now. Characters, setting, and time period remain a mystery. We don’t know if the movie is Modern Warfare or Black Ops aligned, or tells an entirely different story with brand new characters. Perhaps, in Berg’s mind, the Call of Duty movie is Call of Duty in name only.
Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.