Exciting news for fans of the acclaimed video game series! Sony is pushing ahead with its live-action Horizon Zero Dawn movie, aiming to kick off filming in 2026 and debut the film in 2027. This ambitious timeline was recently disclosed in a court document.
The details, initially brought to light by The Game Post, surfaced during Sony’s ongoing legal dispute with Tencent concerning the game ‘Light of Motiram’, which Sony claims is a direct copy of Guerrilla Games’ video game, Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions, confirmed in the legal filing that a working script for the Horizon Zero Dawn film is now complete. The team is actively seeking a director to bring Aloy’s world to life on the big screen.
“We are in development for a film based on Horizon in partnership with Columbia Pictures,” Qizilbash stated in his declaration. “We already have a working script and are actively searching for a director, with the goal of shooting the picture in 2026 and releasing it in 2027. The live-action film follows the recent collaborations between Columbia Pictures and PlayStation Productions on the 2022 film Uncharted and the 2023 film Gran Turismo.”
Qizilbash also emphasized the critical role of Horizon’s heroine, Aloy, calling her a “key icon in the anticipated film” and stressing her importance to the “flywheel of franchise building.”
Sony first officially announced the Horizon movie in January during their CES 2025 press conference. Given Columbia Pictures’ track record with successful video game adaptations, such as the 2022 Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan, their continued collaboration on Horizon is a promising sign.
Speaking on-stage at CES, Qizilbash expressed his enthusiasm: “Columbia Pictures and PlayStation Productions are at the early stages of developing a film adaptation of the award-winning Horizon Zero Dawn. Just imagine, Aloy’s beloved origin story set in a vibrant, far future world filled with the giant machines, brought to you for the first time on the big screen.”
During the same press conference, Sony also announced a film adaptation of Helldivers 2 and an anime series adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima.
The question now stirring among fans is: who should play Aloy?
This article was reported by Wesley Yin-Poole, Director of News at IGN.