Roger Avary Will 'Return to Castle Wolfenstein'

You know the old saying "You can't keep a good man down"? Well, it would appear that the same applies to big-budget video game flicks. Eurogamer recently spoke with id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, and according to him the big-screen version of the popular first-person shooter Return to Castle Wolfenstein is still on and in development. It has been a year since Oscar winner Roger Avary was signed to write and direct, but in spite of the delays it looks like the project is back on the front burner.

Wolfenstein takes place in Nazi-occupied Europe and revolves around Army Ranger William "B.J." Blazkowicz. Along with another agent, Blazkowicz is sent to discover the truth about the SS Paranormal Division. Taking the role of Blazkowicz, the player must escape the Nazi stronghold while investigating the activities of the SS Paranormal Division, which include research on resurrecting corpses, and various secret weapons -- providing players with hours of gruesome fun.

A feature film version of the game has been a long time coming, with rumblings of a feature going back almost three years. According to Hollenshead, "With the writer's strike it took so long to get underway and Roger Avary, the writer, had a commitment that was in line before working the Wolfenstein stuff, but I've recently been in contact with Roger and he's actually working on the script right now." Avary hasn't had the best of luck lately, personal or professional, so for his sake I hope Wolfenstein manages to pull itself out of development limbo.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010.