As far as directors are concerned - maybe give someone relatively unknown like Leigh Whannell a chance?

Upgrade was quite decent:

Red Band Trailer #1
Red Band Trailer #2


In terms of what this maybe should be about to have it start off on a strong note, I'd definitely try to get Keanu Reeves or Idris Elba on board, for something set 50, respectively 10 years prior to the events of Cyberpunk 2077.

I wonder how soured Keanu is on Cyberpunk/CDPR. I mean, he was pretty much the face of the marketing for that, and then the release was a nightmare. Of course no one blamed him, but I'd still be pretty pissed at a studio for making me the public face of a marketing campaing built on lies for fundamentally broken product. I don't think I'd want to work with them again. It's not like he needs it.

I still think Scott could deliver an accurate version of Night City because the one thing he truly understands is aesthetics. Scott can do amazing visual things but people seem to forget that he was not the writer of Blade Runner, nor was he involved in writing any of the classic films credited to him, something that became all too apparent after Prometheus. Blade Runner's dark, depressing existential tone came from the writers Fancher and Peoples, Scott's job was to represent that and he did so brilliantly. I think if someone else could write an authentic 2077 story, he could really bring it to life.

That said, I think I have to agree Rodriguez might be a better all-round choice, while he's made some films of questionable quality, and his writing can be rather scattershot, he really has shown an aptitude for all the required elements here. Much like Scott though, I think he'd need capable writers to work with, but with the right team I think his brand of pulpy Noir and kinetic action would be perfect for the 2077 universe.

If this were the case he surely wouldn't have returned to record new voice over for Phantom Liberty? Unless this was a contractual obligation which he had to fulfill.

Wasn't he also heavily involved in the promo tour for Phantom Liberty, doing interviews and such? If I were in his place and peeved about how things went with the launch of the base game in 2020 I would have at least skipped that, and accepted the consequences (paying a fine or whatever, for not upholding any contractual obligations in this regard).

My point (although I may not have effectively communicated it) was not really about Ridley Scott, but that...

... without a script and "names" attached...

... this release is just...

... "We hope to make a Cyberpunk 2077 movie with these guys. Will you please start getting excited so we can try and leverage that to push this further through development?!"

I hope CDPR can get the project made... and that it's quality... but there's a certain desperation -- or naivete -- in making a press release this early in the process. But then the business has gotten pretty weird lately. Maybe this is the new generations SOP?

Yeah. I enjoyed the anime but not great from a lore perspective. Cyberpsychosis is a central theme of the anime but push the narrative that it comes from implants and their stress on the mind that is irreversible when in reality, its really mental illness caused by stress living in the dystopia that is Cyberpunk. It is possible that regular folk dont know any of this and believe the cause its only rooted in implants which is a decent take on the unreliable narrator but I think an expansion should focus on "correcting" the lore which should have Pondsmith involved as a result.

Im also honestly hesitant to have modern writers adapt pre-existing IPs. Anime directors tend to be nerds so seem to actually like the material (Edgerunners production team said they played the game and considered it an important part of the process and "if we hadnt considered that part important, the final production would have ended up as a seriously weird anime."

Contrast with the live action of another CDPR-inspired property where the writers actively despised the books and games, I hope CDPR chooses wisely on who they have write and produce their live action show.

Its that something from Cyberpunk RED, because CP2020 is very clear its a result of loosing your humanity or touch with reality from Cyberware. See: View from the Edge (Pages 73-75)

There's a whole bit about post implant psycho therapy to regain a bit of humanity, even extreme therapies for cyberpsychosis that involved removing cyberware and replacing it with organic cloned tissue to help bring someone back from the edge.

Personally I think whole Edgerunners handled Cyberpsychosis was damn near perfect, David seeing cops that didn't exist and Maine's fantasy were very different breakdowns.

In interviews he said he doesn't play video games at all and never saw Cyberpunk outside of promo materials, so it's entirely possible that only info he ever saw about the game post-release were sales numbers.

Idris Elba, on the other hand, allegedly is a bit of a gamer and played Cyberpunk before getting involved and still was enthusiastic about joining the project.

Im talking more of the narrative that cyberpsychosis is inevitable once you are on the path and that there is no turning back. As you note, its a mental issue that can be addressed with therapy and removing cyberware although again, this could be just the uninformed perspective of the general population since cloned tissue and therapy isnt available to them.

Its natural for a celebrity to endorse a product that just failed (which CP 2077 did not since it made a pretty big comeback imo) and thats just the "risk" of being a celebrity. I dont think anyone holds it against Keanu that CP 2077 failed either (its not like he himself was problematic which affected the product's image nor is the product something illegal like a scam). Celebrities have been attached in bad movies, stupid products that failed, etc. As long as the celebrity is not the face of something that is controversial and harmful like a scam, its just part of the entertainment business and Keanu got paid a pretty penny to be the face of CP 2077.

I feel you might have taken your GM's take on Cyberpsychosis as lore. The whole game's system is based around cyberware makes you less human and at some point that's going to break you. Things like Synth skin reduce Humanity cost, while the hardware remains the same. Meanwhile the Samson and Gemini full cyborg replacements from the Chrome books are effectively the same thing, yet the Gemini has a lower HL cost because it keeps the illusion of being human. The lore on cyberpsychosis is crystal clear.

Its worth noting I rationalised V not having Humanity or the worry of going cyberpsycho was they effectively were already going through a form of psychosis with having Johnny in their head.

why in the living fuck would you want that nutter in control? hasnt made a decent film since before his brother died (who held back the reigns and made things work by the way).
He still wants to do a psuedo-sequel to Johnny Mnemonic
No that was the art department - primarily overseen by Tony Scott. Ridley had fuck all to do with it just like Alien. Hence you end up with the messes he made later.

I was ready to give up on Scott too after Robin Hood and especially Prometheus (haven't even seen Covenant), but The Last Duel was pretty damn good. Not perfect, but still - really good. I actually quite regret not seeing it in the theatre.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure all speculation about big movie directors, though fun, is pointless since it almost certainly will end up being a tv series, with someone big at the most serving as a producer to let them put a name on it. And if it is a tv show, then it's almost doomed, because trying to find a decent tv show these days is like trying to grate cheese with snow.

Okay, hear me out. We get Steven Spielberg, Tom Ruegger, Rich Arons, Sherri Stoner, Rusty Mills, Peter Hastings, Amblin Entertainment & Warner Bros. Animation on the case. It's a zany show about the pratfalls of cyberpunk culture and how it has drifted from the original depiction of a netrunner vs corporate oppressors.

We'll call it: CyberManiacs!

Sorry if my writing was muddled. I meant that the anime narrative seemed to strongly suggest that the path to cyberpsychosis was inevitable once you started along the path. David's ripperdoc implies that once David goes over the edge, its over and that the meds he provides only prolongs the effects but David's fall into psychosis is only a matter of time. Although Maine and David are both recommended to lighten their cyberware, the anime also seems to imply its a temporary fix and a cyberpsycho can only be killed.

The lore shows that this is not the case but that is not made very clear in the anime with many viewers coming off with the impression that adding strong cyberware like a sandy means you are on the way to psychosis and there is no way back.

Definately not the worst thing made though and I just hope this prospective live action at least has as much care put into it as the anime unlike the other Netflix venture.