The original Mass Effect trilogy (2007, 2010, 2012) sees late 22nd Century humanity discovering alien life and reluctantly joining the Citadel Council, which represents dozens of alien species at a colossal, ancient space station of ancient origin. Commander Shepard, the first human soldier to be nominated as a Spectre, a Council agent with wide-ranging powers, uncovers evidence of a powerful alien threat to the entire galaxy, known as the Reapers. The Council are sceptical, forcing Shepard to undertake a series of dangerous missions to expose the true nature and scale of the threat. The fourth game, Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017), explores what happens when a series of great ark ships from our galaxy arrive in Andromeda some six hundred years later. The games are noted for the quality of their writing, characterisation and especially impressive worldbuilding.
Amazon picked up the Mass Effect rights in 2021, but there's been little word of the project since then, with some assuming it had withered on the vine. Today's news is not quite a formal greenlight, but it sounds like they are moving to that point. Jung will be the lead writer and showrunner, joining Dan Casey who has already been developing the project. Michael Gamble will produce for Electronic Arts, with Ari Arad and Emmy Yu of Arad Productions.
At this stage there is no sign of any of the original Mass Effect creative team from BioWare being involved. Most have long since left BioWare and are scattered working on different projects for different gaming studios. Fans will also be hoping for the involvement of the original cast's iconic voice cast, including Mark Meer, Jennifer Hale, Seth Green and Brandon Keener, though likely in different roles given their ages.
Fans may also recall that Henry Cavill is a huge Mass Effect fan and had previously teased an apparent willingness to appear in a project.
A Mass Effect TV show is likely still 2-3 years away from reaching the screen. Meanwhile, BioWare is developing a fifth Mass Effect video game, with no word on a potential release date.
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