Paramount Pictures is bringing the dystopian world of Cyberpunk 2077 to the big screen, with Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura attached to develop a live-action film based on the popular video game universe. CD Projekt RED, the Polish studio behind the original game, will also serve as a producer, ensuring that the company responsible for creating Night City remains involved in its journey to Hollywood.
According to Deadline, which first reported the project on October 8, 2026, the upcoming film will take place within the established Cyberpunk 2077 universe. However, the studio has yet to reveal whether it will directly adapt the game’s central storyline or introduce an entirely new adventure. No director, screenwriter, cast or release date has been announced.
CD Projekt RED joint CEO Michał Nowakowski subsequently acknowledged the development on X, expressing enthusiasm about working with Paramount. “We’re excited about Paramount as a future partner who shares our creative ambitions for the Cyberpunk franchise,” he wrote.
The announcement represents another significant step in expanding Cyberpunk beyond video games, although this is not the first time a live-action project set in Night City has been discussed.
Will the Cyberpunk 2077 movie follow V and Johnny Silverhand?
Released in December 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 takes players into Night City, a futuristic metropolis where powerful corporations dominate society and advanced cybernetic technology has transformed everyday life. The game follows V, a mercenary whose life changes after acquiring a biochip containing the digital consciousness of Johnny Silverhand, a rebellious rockstar portrayed by Keanu Reeves.
The relationship between V and Silverhand drives much of the original game’s story. As the digital personality begins threatening V’s existence, the two become entangled in a conflict involving Arasaka, one of the city’s most powerful corporations.
With Reeves already associated with the franchise, his potential involvement in a live-action adaptation is an obvious question. However, there has been no announcement suggesting that the actor will reprise his role as Johnny Silverhand, and Paramount has not confirmed that V will appear in the film.
That uncertainty is particularly interesting because Cyberpunk 2077 offers considerably more storytelling possibilities than its central campaign. Night City is populated by mercenaries, corporate executives, underground hackers and criminal organisations, all operating within a society shaped by extreme wealth inequality and technological dependence.
A film could therefore explore an entirely different character’s experiences without recreating the events of the game. Such an approach would also allow the filmmakers to establish their own narrative while retaining the visual identity and themes that made the original world distinctive.
Cyberpunk already had a live-action project announced in 2023
One important detail surrounding Paramount’s involvement is that CD Projekt RED had previously announced plans to develop a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 project.
In October 2023, the developer confirmed a collaboration with production company Anonymous Content, whose credits include True Detective and Mr. Robot. At the time, the project was described as a new story set within the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, with the companies beginning their search for a screenwriter.
The newly reported Paramount film has not been explicitly identified as the same project. It remains unclear whether the earlier development has evolved into the Paramount production, whether the companies have changed their plans or whether the two projects are separate.
That distinction matters because a new studio announcement does not necessarily mean an adaptation has progressed to filming. Paramount’s project is currently described as being in development, and there is no confirmed production schedule.
Nevertheless, Lorenzo di Bonaventura brings extensive experience with major Hollywood franchises. His producing credits include the Transformers and G.I. Joe films, making him familiar with translating established entertainment properties into large-scale action productions.
The central challenge will be preserving the game’s darker themes and character-driven storytelling rather than relying entirely on its futuristic setting and elaborate action sequences.
Cyberpunk’s growing success makes a movie adaptation significant
The timing of the announcement reflects how dramatically the Cyberpunk franchise has developed since its troubled launch in 2020.
Despite widespread technical issues and criticism when it first arrived, CD Projekt RED continued updating the game and eventually released the acclaimed Phantom Liberty expansion in 2023. By September 2026, the company had confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 had surpassed 40 million copies sold worldwide, while Phantom Liberty had reached 15 million sales.
The franchise has also demonstrated that its universe can support stories beyond the original game’s characters.
Netflix’s animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, released in 2022, followed a new group of characters navigating Night City’s violent underworld. Rather than retelling the game’s campaign, the anime used the same setting to explore ambition, personal relationships and the consequences of technological enhancement.
That approach proved successful enough for CD Projekt RED and Studio Trigger to develop Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, a new standalone story scheduled to premiere on Netflix on October 20, 2026.
The anime offers a useful creative example for Paramount. It demonstrated how the world of Cyberpunk can remain recognisable even when the narrative focuses on characters who are not central to the original game. Whether the upcoming film follows a similar direction has not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, CD Projekt RED is also developing a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, currently known as Cyberpunk 2, further extending the franchise’s future across gaming and other entertainment formats.
For now, Paramount’s live-action adaptation remains an early-stage project with an established producer but no confirmed creative team or release window. Its most important unanswered question is whether Hollywood will revisit V and Johnny Silverhand’s story or introduce an entirely new perspective on Night City.
Either approach offers possibilities, but the film’s eventual success will depend on more than recreating neon-lit streets and cybernetic action. What made Cyberpunk 2077 memorable was the human cost of surviving in its technologically advanced world, and that is the element any big-screen version will need to capture.
