Production Companies John Wells Productions, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Doom Productions, Stillking Films, Babelsberg Film GmbH (as BPS Babelsberg Production Services), Reaper Productions, Distant Planet Productions
Undoubtedly, bringing a film with Doom’s history and scope to life required a director that could marry a fleshed-out drama and visual experience with the visceral excitement of the game. Lorenzo di Bonaventura had previously worked with Andrzej Bartkowiak on the martial arts movies Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 the Grave and felt Bartkowiak’s vision for Doom was ideal. He knew the director had a strong, fast and collaborative work ethic—mandatory for an undertaking of this nature.
“Before he was a director, Andrzej was one of the greatest cinematographers that ever lived,” says di Bonaventura. “I knew he could bring tremendous scale and scope to the movie.”
Screenwriters David Callaham and Wesley Strick set out to write a stand-alone film with solid foundation in the gaming experience. “The setting is the same, yet more complicated, and the world we move through is very similar,” notes Wells. “We kept some of the game’s most iconic elements. At the same time, you don’t have to have played the game to understand this world and be scared.”
Doom’s ensemble cast is led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who has been a fan of “Doom” since its first incarnation. “It broke the mold,” he says. “You are, for the first time in the history of video gaming, the ‘first person’ shooting. You are this person walking through this incredible world, shooting these monsters.”
Though he was originally approached to portray the hero of the piece, Johnson dove straight into the concept of playing its antihero—Sarge, the uncompromising Marine sergeant whose zeal for orders skates the edge between enforced morality and pure evil. “This film pulls no punches,” he says. “We are unapologetic in portraying this world and this story.”
“All of us were thrilled when Dwayne wanted to play Sarge,” says di Bonaventura. “He is immensely talented and has a natural command of a room that comes in handy if you’re commanding a platoon.”
To play Reaper, the soldier at the heart of the adventure, the filmmakers needed a leading man who could carry out nonstop mayhem while bringing emotional depth and conflict to the character.
Karl Urban, who rose to prominence playing Eomer in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, had also been a fan of the game. “The opportunity to have my own 3-D version of it, and to play it out, was a no-brainer for me,” Urban remarks. “It was a very solid script with fantastic, three-dimensional characters, all with great arcs and journeys. Most importantly, it was a faithful rendition of the game. It’s unapologetic. It’s dark and intense.”
Sarge’s team is comprised of ‘an eclectic ensemble of actors from the U.S. and the U.K.—many of whom are classically trained theater actors: DeObia Oparei as Destroyer, Ben Daniels as Goat, Raz Adoti as Duke, Richard Brake as Portman, Yao Chin as Mac and Al Weaver as The Kid lend their talents to complete the RRTS. Rosamund Pike and Dexter Fletcher round out the cast as the brilliant scientist Dr. Sam Grimm—Reaper’s sister—and Pinky, the paraplegic communications officer.
Movie Database
In Theaters
