The latest Duke Nukem game was delayed for a decade if not longer only to eventually release to a collective “meh”. You’ll be forgiven for saying that Duke Nukem Forever would’ve been better off staying in the development hell from whence it came. So, you can’t really blame audiences for casting doubt immediately when the Duke Nukem film was confirmed with the Cobra Kai creators at the helm.
For those who aren’t familiar with Duke Nukem, it’s a franchise centered around the titular character, a muscle-bound, gun-toting action hero who takes names and kicks ass. The series made a name for itself throughout the early 90s with its crude humor, gratuitous violence, and overly macho personality.
Unfortunately, the three main strengths of Duke Nukem went out of style in the 2000s and much more so in the 2010s.
These days, a Duke Nukem character will no longer fly but that doesn’t mean that the franchise itself is doomed to fail.
According to available information, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg are producing the live-action film and are looking to Deadpool for inspiration. While aspiring to make a lot of money despite being an R-rated film isn’t a bad thing, modeling Duke Nukem after a parody character isn’t the best idea. Instead, Duke Nukem will do well to lean into its sci-fi and horror side without being afraid of being campy.
Don’t forget, Sam Raimi made a name for himself doing sort of the same exact thing with the Evil Dead franchise.
The last we heard, the reboot of Evil Dead is doing fairly well among critics and at the global box office.
The 2001 version of Duke Nukem Forever had the same idea, incorporating RPG and horror elements. We don’t really know if it would’ve gone well at the time of its release, but could it have been really worse than what we get? Probably not.
The earlier Duke Nukem games dip their toes enough in the sci-fi and horror realms that they were frightening to play at times.
This won’t necessarily guarantee success, but it’s a start. After all, the more troubling issue is the more problematic aspects of the franchise. The objectification of women, out-of-place sexual humor, and a general lack of morality aren’t going to do well with modern movie audiences. But, what of the older fans? We’re pretty sure they’d be more than happy to see Duke Nukem on the big screen, provided that Legendary Entertainment actually gets good actors and spend enough money on the right balance of practical effects and high-definition CGI with tons of guns, blood, and explosions.
Also, just because the Duke Nukem film has to be progressive, this doesn’t mean that the character doesn’t need to look a lot like the original character – the actor needs to ooze masculinity and testosterone out of every orifice of his body.
The Duke Nukem film can still stay true to the essence of the franchise without offending audiences and bombing at the global box office.
As long as Legendary Entertainment can rope in a director who knows how to create a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, the live-action Duke Nukem movie has the potential to appeal to a wider audience while also satisfying longtime franchise fans.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t take a decade to develop and bring to movie audiences around the globe.
In the meantime, audiences can look forward to the premiere of the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai on Netflix.
