Jak and Daxter Film Could Signal a New Game for the Franchise

Filming is targeted for 2027, and PlayStation has a history of pairing screen projects with a game's return.

If you've been waiting for Sony to do something with Jak and Daxter, there's news worth your attention. On the surface, it's about a film rather than a game, but the two are more closely linked than they look, and the film could be what finally brings the Naughty Dog duo back to current consoles.

Here's the pattern to keep in mind. PlayStation likes to tie its screen adaptations to the games behind them. When a movie or show gets the go-ahead, the franchise usually gets some kind of push on the gaming side too. Sometimes that's a brand-new entry, but at the least it tends to be a remaster or a remake.

The Last of Us is a clear case, with a remake and a remaster arriving alongside the TV series. When the Uncharted film was coming, players got a fresh collection of the games to go with it. It doesn't always work out cleanly, though. Gravity Rush is the best example.

A film was in the works at one point, and it appears to have stalled out completely. Nobody outside the project really knows whether cameras ever rolled or whether it only reached early tests. There was a short concept clip of a cat dropping into the city, maybe ten to twenty seconds long, and it used motion capture, so it was clearly early days.

Whatever happened after that has never been explained. If the project is somehow still alive, nobody seems to know what's going on with it. Back then the film was widely expected to arrive, which makes the silence even stranger. It's a shame, because Gravity Rush is a great series, and the attention Control Resonant is bringing it right now is a small silver lining.

A Gravity Rush 2 remaster was also rumored around the same time, and that never showed up either.

So the strongest example is flawed: a film that never came together, paired with a rumored game that never came together either. Still, the idea behind it holds. Get a movie or a show, and the franchise tends to return in some form. It isn't a guarantee, but it's a pattern that has repeated often enough to take seriously.

Twisted Metal is another example that didn't land perfectly. It's widely known by now that Firesprite, the studio behind the Until Dawn remake, was building a live-service Twisted Metal game before it was canceled. The plan was clearly to launch it alongside the show. If any franchise made sense as a live-service project, this probably is, but the Twisted Metal game never happened.

Even so, when PlayStation commits to a film or a series, it's quite willing to bring the matching game back, even if the execution ends up uneven. That background matters because of what's happening with Jak and Daxter. The idea of a film has been around since roughly the time of Uncharted in 2022.

Tom Holland talked about it back then, and the director was reportedly the same one from Uncharted. Following that with Jak and Daxter and casting Tom Holland would be an interesting choice. Tom Holland's role is still just talk for now, but the film does look like it could happen.

According to an insider account in the fan community, citing an industry trade listing, PlayStation Productions wants to start filming in 2027.

If that timeline holds, the most likely spots for an official announcement are the 25th anniversary of Jak and Daxter or CES 2027, which runs from January 6 to 9. Neither date is confirmed, so treat both as educated guesses. The trade publication in question is one that professionals use, mostly for casting and crew notices on film and TV productions.

It's a paid service, so the sources behind each listing aren't visible to everyone, which is normal for an industry resource. Anyone who has tracked the Scream franchise through these listings will tell you it has a solid record. The main thing to remember is that details can change.

Dates shift, filming locations get swapped, and the people attached come and go. A project can also be listed under a working title, and Scream 7 wasn't always listed under that name, for example. Still, a project doesn't land there by mistake.

A listing is a strong sign that things are moving behind the scenes, even if production slows down or gets adjusted along the way. A Jak and Daxter film is an interesting call, and it could work depending on how it's handled. A Sly Cooper series nearly happened years ago, Astro Bot is doing better than ever, and there's talk of a Crash Bandicoot film or show down the line. Success is possible.

Game adaptations rarely win people over automatically, and skepticism is a reasonable default.

The Life is Strange adaptation looks more promising than expected, mostly because the set photos and materials suggest the people making it are handling the source material properly. In most cases, though, a project has to earn your trust first, and you shouldn't hand it over until the people involved show they know what they're doing.

For this story, the movie itself is almost beside the point. Think of the Jak and Daxter film as the route to a game. Some people online say they'd rather just get a game and skip the film, which is fair. Even if you don't end up caring for it, though, its existence still points toward activity on the game side, and whether it turns out good or bad matters less than that.

Based on past examples, a film going ahead makes some kind of game release very likely, and that usually means a remaster or a remake. A proper collection would go a long way. The last one arrived in the PS3 era, and it's been a long time. Re-releases can feel repetitive, but the alternative right now is nothing. Even a straightforward port of the older games would be a start. Another Jak and Daxter collection is the obvious ask.

Jak and Daxter is in the same boat as Sly Cooper, inFAMOUS, and Resistance. These series date back to the PS3 era and slightly earlier, and Sony has done very little with them. This one came out of Naughty Dog, and like the others, it's been left sitting on the shelf. Under those conditions, any release is welcome, even a re-release of a re-release or a collection of a collection. Suppose the film is what kick-starts that; its quality hardly matters.

A good film would be a bonus, but that's a separate conversation.

Getting the games back onto current consoles is what counts, and the same deal would be welcome for Sly Cooper any day of the week. If Sony follows through, it adds to a growing pattern of revisiting older catalogs. The classic Greek-era God of War games are confirmed to be getting attention, and rumors suggest the original Killzone could get a fresh version too. That rumor surfaced only a few weeks ago.

The approach is slow and careful. Sony isn't jumping straight into big-budget new entries. It's testing the waters with re-releases first, then judging whether a new game makes sense. Complaining about it doesn't get anyone far. Five years ago there was no chance of any movement on these franchises, so something happening is progress. That's why this route is fine, even if it's a slower way to get there. 

Suppose this is how Jak and Daxter returns; expect a slow build. The movie comes first, and it may not even be good; then a collection follows. If that collection sells well, a smaller team could take on a follow-up. It doesn't have to be Naughty Dog itself, and Neil Druckmann directing it isn't a requirement, or even something worth wanting. 

A focused group of around forty developers could make a new Jak and Daxter game. That doesn't seem like a huge ask, but Sony will likely take its time. Nothing will happen overnight, but it could signal a real willingness to bring the series back.