Call of Duty Movie Is About the Cost of War and Being a Warrior, Director Says

Director Peter Berg says the upcoming Call of Duty movie will be about “the cost of war, the cost of having to be a warrior,” according to GamesRadar+, which cites his interview with ComicBook.com.

In the Director’s Words

Berg said, “There’s a real soul to the Modern Warfare universe,” and added, “These are not – and no disrespect – cartoon characters or comic books,” per GamesRadar+. He gave the interview during the press tour for his film The Mosquito Bowl, according to Comic Basics. He praised Captain Price, Soap, Ghost and Alex, and said the film would probably be “not quite as graphically violent as Mosquito Bowl,” but with “a very strong soul, and consequence of war,” per Martin Cid Magazine.

Variety framed the remarks as a rejection of the comic-book-movie approach, and its headline says the film will be about the cost of war and having to be a warrior.

The Writers and Producers

Berg is co-writing the film with Taylor Sheridan. Paramount is releasing it under a deal with Activision signed in September 2025, and the producers are Berg, Sheridan, David Glasser and Rob Kostich, per Comic Basics. Berg confirmed the Modern Warfare setting at Fanatics Fest in July.

Both men bring recognizable credits. Berg’s films include Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor, Patriots Day and Hancock, according to Neowin and The Week India, while Sheridan is known as the creator of the Yellowstone universe and the writer of Sicario and Hell or High Water. The Hollywood Reporter also credits Sheridan with Landman. Rob Kostich, who represents Activision on the project, appeared alongside Berg at CinemaCon, where he presented a sizzle reel, according to GamesBeat.

Why Modern Warfare

The film will be set in the Modern Warfare universe, which means it is not based on the Black Ops branch of the franchise, according to a summary on Ground News. Berg made the announcement during a “Call of Duty in Culture” panel at Fanatics Fest in New York, per Variety, an event that promoted the October release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

Fans had speculated for months about which of the franchise’s more than 30 mainline games would form the foundation of the film. Productionlist describes the project as focused on special operations forces with what Berg calls grounded authenticity, and the characters Berg praised, including Captain John Price and Task Force 141, are among the series’ best-known figures.

June 30, 2028 and a 25th Anniversary

The film is set for theaters on June 30, 2028, a date announced at CinemaCon in April, according to Comic Basics. TheWrap reports that Berg revealed the date in a video at the convention and that it coincides with the 25th anniversary of the original Call of Duty, which launched as a PC game in 2003. Hitmarker adds that the original game came out in October 2003 and that the date was chosen deliberately to line up with that milestone. The official Call of Duty account posted the date on April 16, per Neowin.

Some regional listings differ. Sortir à Paris gives June 28, 2028 as a release date for its market and says the U.S. release remains June 30. The Week India reports that filming is scheduled to begin in early 2027.

How the Project Came Together

The path to the interview began in 2025, when Paramount announced that Berg and Sheridan would bring the franchise to the big screen, according to TheWrap, and Paramount’s deal with Activision was signed that September, per Comic Basics. In April 2026, Paramount revealed the release date at CinemaCon, where Activision’s Rob Kostich presented a sizzle reel alongside Berg, according to GamesBeat, which refers to the studio as Paramount Skydance. Berg then confirmed the setting at Fanatics Fest in July, and his comments about the film’s tone came in October during the press tour for The Mosquito Bowl.

Variety notes that the Fanatics Fest panel took place to promote the October release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The Hollywood Reporter calls Sheridan the creator of Landman and Yellowstone, adding his television work to the film credits that were highlighted at the time of the announcement.

A Turn Toward Contemporary Conflict

A summary of European coverage on Ground News observes that the choice of Modern Warfare means the film turns away from historical conflicts and looks directly at modern ones, and that the film will be built around Captain Price and Task Force 141. The Week India says the film features characters such as Captain John Price and Task Force 141, and that Paramount and Activision are producing it with filming set to begin in early 2027. Berg’s own comments, as reported by GamesRadar+, stress that these characters should be treated as real people facing the consequences of war.

What Is Still Unknown

No cast has been announced, and no plot has been released. Hitmarker likewise notes that no performers have been named, and Productionlist describes the story only in general terms. The film’s title also remains the franchise name alone, since T-Break calls it an untitled Call of Duty film.

A Franchise at Scale

The adaptation carries the weight of one of the biggest properties in games. TheWrap calls Call of Duty the biggest video game franchise of the 21st century, and a summary on Ground News says the film targets a player base of more than 100 million monthly active players across platforms. The franchise is Xbox-owned, according to Variety, and the film is being produced in collaboration with Activision. Paramount announced Berg and Sheridan’s involvement in 2025, according to TheWrap.

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