One of the biggest franchises to come out on PlayStation recently is Horizon Zero Dawn. Though there were rumblings of a Netflix adaptation a few years ago, there has been barely any update on the project.
At a recent Sony press conference, however, it was revealed that the Horizon project is moving forward and will be a theatrically released film.
Horizon Zero Dawn Movie
According to IGN, PlayStation Productions and Columbia Pictures announced during Sony’s CES 2025 press conference that they would be making a Horizon movie based on the success of Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.
No director or lead has been announced yet, but PlayStation Productions head Asad Qizilbash did say:
"Columbia Pictures and PlayStation Productions are at the early stages of developing a film adaptation of the award-winning Horizon Zero Dawn… Just imagine, Aloy's beloved origin story set in a vibrant, far future world filled with the giant machines, brought to you for the first time on the big screen."
A Quick Rundown of Aloy’s Story
For the uninitiated, Horizon Zero Dawn focuses on the adventures of Aloy, a human living in a post-apocalyptic world where civilization has been destroyed and robotic machine animals are roaming the planet.
Aloy finds herself exploring the ruins of the Old World, and it’s revealed to her how humanity almost killed itself and how they managed to salvage their species after an apocalyptic event.
Besides Aloy and her tribe, the world is filled with other factions of people who have found different ways to survive in the new world. Mingling with the tech of the old world is forbidden, but some have managed to use it to their advantage—and it’s up to Aloy to make sure they don’t abuse that power.
The Appeal of Horizon
Horizon is an open-world action-adventure game in which players explore futuristic wilds, hunt animals, and craft weapons and gear. In addition to the fantastic visuals, one of the game’s signature features is the mechanical creature designs, which range from docile animals like mecha deer to colossal robot elephants.
The world-building is also pretty unique, with Aloy exploring factions that have somehow returned to the medieval age. The look of the armor in the Horizon series is also interesting. It looks like people just took some PC parts and decided to make them part of their armor.
PlayStation Productions
It’s unclear how Sony plans to tackle the Horizon movie, but the lore allows for either expanding Aloy’s story or telling a compressed live-action version.
While adaptations like The Last of Us have received critical acclaim, the same can’t be said for Uncharted, which was critically bashed when it came out. For all of Tom Holland’s charisma, he just couldn’t capture the spirit of the Nathan Drake character; it was like he was just a powerless Spider-Man.
Either way, Sony has a lot to learn from previous failed adaptations, so maybe Horizon is already in good hands. Then again, they still thought that the Spider-Man spinoffs were a good idea, so maybe fans should wait and see how they tackle Aloy.
No release date has been announced for the Horizon movie, but hopefully, it will come out in a few years.