World War II horror will come to life in new ‘Wolfenstein’ show

For as long as the Sun rises and sets, there will be shows and movies about World War II. And that generally is a good thing. Now we can add a television adaptation of the long-running video game franchise ‘Wolfenstein.’ 

Variety reported yesterday that Amazon is developing a television adaptation of the World War II horror video games, from the same team behind the television adaptation of Bethesda’s ‘Fallout.’ Patrick Somerville, who created ‘Station Eleven,’ is attached as showrunner. Details on the show are scant, but it already promises to be true to the games with plenty of World War II action. Or as the show’s succinct logline puts it: “The story of killing Nazis is evergreen.”

And that’s a large part of what made the games successful. Before ‘Call of Duty,’ before ’Medal of Honor,’ there was ‘Wolfenstein.’ The game franchise started in 1981, with more than half a dozen games released since, including major ones in the 21st Century. As for the driving plot or lore, it mostly boils down to the player taking the role of an Allied soldier and having to kill as many Nazis as possible, often in the titular Castle Wolfenstein. It’s there that the player takes on the Axis as they try to use occult powers to turn the tide of World War II. It’s a simple premise, but there is a whole genre of post-World War II films set during the conflict that rely on that same starting point. 

Horror-tinged World War II stories aren’t new. And the story of Wolfenstein is pretty straightforward. Blaskowicz has to fight his way through hordes of conventional Nazis and supernatural Nazis, in just one small part of the larger fight to liberate Europe from the Axis Powers. 

What sets ‘Wolfensten’ apart is that it gets a bit weird with it. Early games focused on the soldier, William “B.J.” Blaskowicz, taking out Nazis trying to harness the occult and black magic. Later ones have explored more science fiction ideas, with robots and Nazi cyborgs serving as Blaskowicz’s enemies. A recent one even explored an alternate reality where the Axis won World War II. It’s unclear what angle the show will take, although it’s a fair bet it will at least touch on the original plotline with Castle Wolfenstein. 

The show is in early development but given the success of ‘Fallout’ and the infrastructure behind Amazon’s television and film production, ‘Wolfenstein’ likely will be here sooner than later. Will it be the next ‘Band of Brothers?’ Probably not in terms of tone or narrative depth. But it should almost assuredly be full of enough anti-Axis action to make Lt. Aldo Raine proud.