It’s time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and Duke Nukem is all out of gum. The irreverent video game action hero is headed to the silver screen, THR reports, to be produced by Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg.
Duke Nukem dropped in 1991 as a platformer for the PC, and the 1993 sequel followed the same model. But 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D helped change video games forever, and alongside Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, it popularized the first person shooter, now one of the most dominant video game formats. Hail to the king, baby!
Modeled on 1980s action heroes like Kurt Russell and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the titular Nukem fought off an alien invasion while firing off almost as many punchlines as bullets. Those attributes, coupled with more than $1 billion in video game sales, have made it an attractive target for film adaptations, but no projects ever got off the ground. Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg, alongside Legendary Entertainment, are now poised to make a Duke Nukem film a reality.
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Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg are producing under their Counterbalance Entertainment banner. They are reportedly looking for a screenwriter, while leaving open the possibility that the Counterbalance crew could direct.
In the meantime they have plenty to keep them busy. Cobra Kai Season 5 debuts on Netflix on September 9th, 2022.