Online games getting their own live-action movie or series is not a rare sight these days. In the recent past, several games have been adapted into live-action movies or series. The most recent example is Prime Video’s Fallout TV series, based on the popular Fallout game franchise, which is all set to release in April 2024.
Like most popular games, expecting a live-action project based on the smashing hit game Helldivers 2 won’t be surprising. But what if we told you the game doesn’t need to create one, as they already have a movie they just need to partner with?
To simplify it Helldivers 2 honors fallen soldiers with a complimentary cape as part of ‘Malevelon Creek Memorial Day,’ and includes a presidential directive from Super Earth’s leader. Sounds familiar? Starship Troopers it is!
How is Helldivers 2 related to Starship Troopers?
When many players watched the trailers and further played Helldivers 2, they couldn’t help but think of the 1997 movie franchise Starship Troopers. In fact, several fans even went on to claim that Helldivers 2 is nothing but a game adaptation of Starship Troopers.
The connection, rather similarities between Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers are evidently obvious for anyone who has watched the movie. Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers both are explicit parodies of fascism and ultra-militarism.
But that’s not the only thing common in both. The core plot of both franchises is humanity resisting giant, alien bugs. These bugs in Starship Troopers are called Arachnids, while those in Helldivers 2 are called Terminids. Not only are the bugs common, but the designs of these alien bugs are also quite similar. Both Terminids and Arachnids have long, multijointed legs and spiny abdomens.
Apart from the foes, the weapons to fight these foes are also largely similar in both franchises. Large rifles, gray-and-black armor with prominent, rounded helmets, turrets, and mounted installations, are all common sights in both. We’re talking of enemies and weapons, and yes, even the armies are similar too. Starship Troopers infantry and Helldivers 2‘s Helldivers are both known to be disorganized and imperfectly equipped, thus facing difficulty rising to the challenge of the giant bugs.
A unified earth is another point of similarity. The futuristic setting wherein the divisions of race, gender, sexuality, nationality, age, and ability do not exist is the common ground in both. Last but not least, the humans are the victims in both, but they are the ones to cause the bug wars in both Starship Troopers and Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 Live Action Movie could be a Starship Troopers sequel
So many resemblances are not hard to spot. That being said, there are a lot of elements that set the game apart from the movie as well, such as Automatons, for example.
Notably, 1997’s Starship Troopers was based on a 1959 novel of the same name, by Robert A. Heinlein. Although it does not recreate the novel as it is, it does take heavy inspiration from the author’s work. In spite of the changes introduced in the movie, Starship Troopers manages to make peace with the novel without hurting sentiments.
Helldivers 2 has ruined video games for two franchises. It’s the BEST Starship Trooper game AND the best Terminator game.
byu/RagingEnglishaholic inHelldivers
Similarly, if the movie could accommodate a few more changes like adding the Automatons to the mix and renaming the Arachnids as Terminids, making peace with Helldivers 2 wouldn’t be a daunting task as well. This way, Helldivers 2 fans can get their own live-action movie, and Starship Troopers could get a fresh sequel.
Ironically when Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 was released in February 2024, the viewership of the 1997 Starship Troopers increased dramatically. Besides the page visits on the movie’s Wikipedia page also skyrocketed. We’d probably strike out the possibility of a mere coincidence here.
