Amazon MGM Studios is reportedly developing a Mass Effect television series from F9: The Fast Saga writer Daniel Casey.
A screenshot from Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021), BioWare
Variety’s Joe Otterson reports, “A Mass Effect TV series is officially in development at Amazon MGM Studios.”
He adds that Daniel Casey will not only write the show, but he will executive produce as well. He’s joined by Karim Zreik and Cedar Tree Productions as well as Ari Arad and EA’s Michael Gamble, who is currently working on the fifth installment of Mass Effect.
A screenshot from Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021), BioWare
It was reported back in November 2021 that Prime Video was working on a deal to develop a Mass Effect series. Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reported at the time, “One of the company’s newest hopefuls in the arena is Mass Effect. Amazon Studios is nearing a deal to develop a series based on the best-selling sci-fi video game franchise from Electronic Arts.”
Amazon MGM Studios boss Jennifer Salke shared with Andreeva, “You will see us continuing to invest in fantasy genre of all kinds, we have a genre-focused team on the ground in Studios who work tirelessly with our creative partners on those slates, and you can look forward to more.”
A screenshot from Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021), BioWare
No plot details were revealed about the series. So it’s unclear if the series will attempt to adapt the original storyline from the first three games or be something completely original. Video game adaptations have been a mixed bag with many of them ending up performing poorly with Borderlands and Halo being two recent examples.
If Amazon MGM Studios and EA want to find success they will adapt the original storyline rather than attempting an original take on the series. Amazon’s own experience with attempting original takes on storied IP has been disastrous with both The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings.
A screenshot from Mass Effect: Andromeda Deluxe Edition (2017), BioWare
Furthermore, the series is already on rocky ground with the most recent installment Mass Effect: Andromeda, which came out in 2017 having a poor 5.0 User score on Metacritic.
On top of the most recent entry in the series receiving poor reviews, BioWare, the studio that develops the series recently released Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which is full of post-modern progressive themes that effectively turned the game into a political lecture rather than a game. Given this, it’s highly likely the same will be done to Mass Effect moving forward.
A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare
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