Call of Duty movie director’s old gaming insults resurface amid adaptation role

Peter Berg is walking into Call of Duty with old comments that make the assignment look almost made for irony. In a 2013 interview, Berg called war video games “pathetic,” “weak,” and “keyboard courage,” and said he would give Call of Duty a pass only for military personnel, not for kids or general players.

That mismatch is now front and center because Berg is not just attached to the film, he is co-writing, directing, and producing it with Taylor Sheridan. Paramount and Activision first announced the deal on September 2, 2025, then set the movie’s theatrical release for June 30, 2028, during CinemaCon on April 16, 2026. The project is being positioned as a live-action feature that will honor the franchise’s military-shooter roots while broadening its reach.

The skepticism around Berg’s old remarks lands harder because Call of Duty is one of the most successful entertainment brands in the world. The franchise has been the No. 1 bestselling video game series in the United States for 16 consecutive years and has sold more than 500 million copies globally. It launched in 2003, which means the film is arriving more than two decades after the series first reshaped shooters on consoles and PC.

The long gap matters, too, because Activision has spent more than a decade trying to get a Call of Duty movie made. Earlier plans even explored a broader film universe, and the company later asked fans in a survey whether the movie should draw from Black Ops, Modern Warfare, Zombies, or an original story. That history has kept expectations high and patience thin, especially for a fan base that knows how often Hollywood misses what makes a game work.

Berg’s defenders point to the war films that built his reputation, including Lone Survivor, and to his emphasis on authenticity and special forces connections at CinemaCon. That background may explain why Paramount and Activision chose him despite the old interview, but it does not erase the contrast. For Call of Duty fans, the real question now is whether a director who once dismissed the games can deliver a movie that finally earns their trust.