Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation of Sega’s horror video game franchise has found its lead actress in Isabel Merced, who most recently appeared as Hawkgirl in 2025’s Superman.
According to Deadline, Anderson, who also brought Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise to the silver screen, will be working behind the scenes as a producer. His partner from Resident Evil, Jeremy Bolt, will be co-producing, along with Sega’s Toru Nakahara (Sonic the Hedgehog), Story Kitchen’s Dmitri M. Johnson (Tomb Raider TV series), Michael Lawrence Goldberg, and Isabel Merced herself. The film doesn’t have a distributor yet, but Rocket Science is actively looking for one and will launch international sales at the European Film Market. Some early concept art pieces were also released.
In a statement, Anderson says, “The House of the Dead is a game I have loved for many years, and I’m beyond thrilled to be bringing this to the big screen with such an exciting talent as Isabela at its heart. We envisage this as the start of a tentpole franchise which can explore the rich world and lore that Sega has created over a whole series of films.”
Deadline also reports that The House of the Dead film is a “top Sega priority,” following the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. The company’s Yakuza franchise (also known as Like a Dragon) received an Amazon Prime Video adaptation in 2024.
This won’t be the first adaptation of The House of the Dead; a film directed by Uwe Boll debuted in 2003 but was widely derided by fans and critics alike.
The House of the Dead is an arcade light gun shooter series that first debuted in 1997. There are six mainline entries that all stick to the light gun format, but there have also been a number of spinoffs and loosely connected games, including The Typing of the Dead, The Pinball of the Dead, and Zombie Revenge. The first two games in the franchise were remade in 2022 and 2025, respectively. Both remakes were received rather poorly by critics.
