The Guy Directing the CoD Film Hates Video Games

"Pathetic. Pathetic. Keyboard courage. Can't stand it." Those are the words of Peter Berg, the man now directing the upcoming Call of Duty movie for Paramount, talking about the very franchise he's been hired to adapt.

The quotes come from a 2013 Esquire interview that was recently unearthed by a ResetEra user. At the time, Berg was promoting his Navy SEALs film Lone Survivor and was asked about military video games. His response was unambiguous: "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." He went further, claiming he told actual Navy SEALs visiting his Montana home that their gaming habit was pathetic. "I think anyone that sits around playing video games for four hours... It's weak. Get out, do something."

This is the person Activision and Paramount chose to helm a film based on the best-selling shooter franchise in history. A franchise sustained entirely by the people Berg described as weak and pathetic. I struggle to think of a more tone-deaf pairing in recent Hollywood-gaming crossover history. It's one thing to not personally enjoy games; plenty of film directors don't. It's another to publicly trash the audience you're now expected to court for opening weekend ticket sales. Berg's filmography, which includes Battleship, Lone Survivor, and Patriots Day, makes him an obvious pick for military action. But his resume also includes Spenser Confidential, so let's not pretend this is Spielberg-level pedigree.

The Call of Duty film is written by Taylor Sheridan and is currently set to release in June 2028.