Steven Spielberg reportedly turned down by Activision to direct Call of Duty movie

Activision and Paramount recently confirmed work was being done on a live-action Call of Duty movie, and now reports have surfaced that Activision turned down esteemed director Steven Spielberg to direct it.

2

The news comes from outlet Puck, which wrote that Steven Spielberg is a longtime fan of the Call of Duty franchise, and really wanted to direct it as he is a longtime fan of gaming, and Call of Duty, in particular. However, Puck reports that three sources have informed the publication that Activision turned down Spielberg after the famed director wanted full control over the production and marketing for the movie, along with the final cut.

According to Puck, that "spooked the team from Activision," and instead the Microsoft-owned company went with David Ellison's pitch that gave them much more control over the process, which ended up being the now solidified deal with Paramount.

Notably, Spielberg isn't just a famed movie director for war movies such as Saving Private Ryan or the TV show Band of Brothers, but has had a role to play in the history of gaming culture, as he spearheaded the cult-classic title Medal of Honor after being immersed in World War 2 research for his movie Saving Private Ryan.

Spielberg was watching his son play GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 and thought it would be a good idea to give players the same emotional weight and intensity as Saving Private Ryan, but make it interactive. Spielberg then pitched the concept to DreamWorks Interactive and went on to shape the original Medal of Honor (1999).