Paramount’s Cyberpunk 2077 Movie Will Tell a New Night City Story, and Leaving V’s Journey to the Players Is the Right Call

October 17, 2026 Noah

Wake up, samurai, Night City is going to the movies. Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 film, and CD Projekt Red has now made one thing very clear: this will not be V’s story. Instead, the movie will tell a brand-new tale set in the neon-soaked streets of Night City. Here’s everything we know so far about the Cyberpunk 2077 movie, and why we think leaving V in the hands of the players is exactly the right call.

Paramount and CD Projekt Red Team Up for a Live-Action Cyberpunk Movie

The project was first reported by Deadline last week. Paramount is developing the film together with CD Projekt Red, which will co-produce, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the producer behind the live-action Transformers and G.I. Joe movies. Shortly after the news broke, CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski welcomed the studio on X as “a future partner who shares our creative ambitions for the Cyberpunk franchise.”

The movie is still at a very early stage. There is no director, no writer, no cast and no release date yet. The deal also replaces CD Projekt Red’s earlier live-action plans: in 2023, the studio had announced a Cyberpunk project with Anonymous Content. According to Nowakowski, that contract expired, and the Paramount opportunity came up in the meantime, so the studio decided to move forward with live-action in a new form.

Cyberpunk joins a growing list of video game adaptations at Paramount, which also includes Street Fighter and a live-action Call of Duty movie. For CD Projekt Red, it’s another big step for a game that has now sold more than 40 million copies after one of the most impressive comebacks in gaming history.

A police chase through the streets of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077

With a Transformers producer on board, expect Night City’s car chases and shootouts to get the big-screen treatment.

A New Night City Story, Not V’s

The biggest question after the announcement was simple: will the movie retell Cyberpunk 2077? Speaking to Polish outlet PAP Biznes, Nowakowski gave a clear answer. “At this point, we can only say that we definitely don’t want to make a film adaptation of the game,” he said. The plan is to tell a story set in the world of Cyberpunk, not a one-to-one version of the game’s plot. Details about characters, story and production will follow once both companies are ready.

Nowakowski didn’t name any characters, so there is no word yet on whether familiar faces like Johnny Silverhand might show up in some form. What we do know is that the film will not walk through the journey of V, the mercenary at the heart of the game, and that’s the part we’re genuinely happy about.

Why We Think Leaving V Alone Is the Right Call

Here at Gamersuniverse, we think this is the smartest decision CD Projekt Red could have made. V isn’t a fixed character like Geralt of Rivia. V is whoever you made them. Your face in the character creator, your lifepath as a Nomad, Streetkid or Corpo, your choices, your friendships, your romances and, in the end, your ending. CD Projekt Red even treated the male and female versions of V as equally valid portrayals of the character during development.

The Cyberpunk 2077 character creator showing a customizable V

Every V starts here: in the character creator, the protagonist belongs to the player.

A movie version of V would have to lock all of that down. One face, one gender, one voice, one backstory and one canon ending. Suddenly, millions of players would be told that the V they spent 100 hours with isn’t the “real” one. That’s the trap of adapting a role-playing game too literally: the player’s journey is personal, and it shouldn’t be squeezed into a single shape decided by a studio. Whether you walked into the Sun ending, rode off with the Aldecaldos or made a very different choice, that story is yours, and it should stay that way.

Night City, on the other hand, is big enough for countless stories. A fresh protagonist gives the filmmakers full creative freedom and lets newcomers jump in without homework, while veteran players can enjoy the world they love without seeing their own V overwritten. In our eyes, that’s a win on both sides.

Johnny Silverhand and V driving through Night City in a Porsche in Cyberpunk 2077

V and Johnny Silverhand’s ride through Night City stays in the hands of the players.

Edgerunners Already Proved the Formula Works

We’ve seen this approach succeed before. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the Netflix anime by Studio Trigger, told its own original story in Night City instead of replaying the game, and it became a huge hit that pulled countless new players into Cyberpunk 2077. Nowakowski pointed to exactly that effect himself.

The timing couldn’t be better either. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 premieres on Netflix on October 20, 2026, with ten episodes and another standalone story featuring an entirely new cast, directed by Kai Ikarashi. If the live-action movie follows the same philosophy, Night City is in good hands.

What We Still Don’t Know

Director and writer: Not announced yet.
Cast: No actors confirmed, and no word on Keanu Reeves returning in any role.
Story: A new story set in the Cyberpunk world, plot and characters still under wraps.
Release date: None yet, so expect a long road before Night City hits theaters.

One thing is already certain: CD Projekt Red is protecting what makes Cyberpunk 2077 special. The world gets to grow, while V’s journey remains exactly where it belongs, with every single player who lived it.

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Picture Source: CD Projekt Red