Sony Chose Justin Lin for Helldivers Precisely Because He’s Not a Gamer

Sony just strapped a director to the Helldivers movie, and it is not the safe, fan-service pick. Justin Lin — the guy who took Fast & Furious from street-racing sequel to billion-dollar juggernaut — is set to direct PlayStation Productions long-in-the-works adaptation. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, along with one detail that will get Helldivers squads clutching their cape physics: Lin does not consider himself a gamer. In fact, that was part of his pitch.

He told Sony he is not a gamer and "leaned into that as a strength."

The pitch vs. the game

Per THR, insiders say Lin is approaching this by zeroing in on characters, threading in timely themes, and expanding the world and mythology. That sounds like a big-canvas, human-first war story. It also does not immediately sound like Helldivers 2, a game that works because it treats Super Earth propaganda with deadly seriousness while the audience is fully aware of the authoritarian rot underneath. No wink, no nudge — just loud, straight-faced patriotism and catastrophic teamwork.

To be fair, video game adaptations do not live or die based on whether the director has a Steam library. The Last of Us landed because Craig Mazin put story over fan service. But Helldivers plays by different rules. Here, tone beats plot every time. If the satire is handled like capital-S Serious War Drama, you risk ending up with a bunch of space marines shooting bugs and none of the joke.

Sony clearly thinks an outsider perspective could be a plus. Whether that pans out will come down to how precisely Lin nails the franchise’s very specific deadpan.

The secret weapon might be the writer

Gary Dauberman is writing the script, and this is where my optimism kicks in. He has horror chops (It, It Chapter Two, Annabelle, Salem’s Lot) and knows how to juggle ensembles you actually care about even when a few are obviously not making it to the end credits. That is perfect for a Helldivers squad where bravery and expendability live side by side.

Dauberman also knows how to make threats feel like more than target practice. With the right touch, Terminids and Automatons can be unnerving instead of just noisy. And if this movie wants to wade into propaganda, expendability, and moral compromise — the uncomfortable fuel that powers the Helldivers universe — a horror writer with a taste for real stakes is not a bad guide.

• Director: Justin Lin (Fast & Furious veteran), chosen by Sony Pictures for PlayStation Productions long-awaited Helldivers adaptation
• Not a gamer: Lin pitched that outsider view as an advantage
• His angle (per insiders): character focus, timely themes, bigger world-building
• Why tone matters: Helldivers works because it plays Super Earth’s jingoism straight while the audience sees the fascist undercurrent
• Writer: Gary Dauberman (It, Annabelle, Salem’s Lot), strong with ensembles, tension, and heavier themes
• The big swing: making Terminids and Automatons feel genuinely threatening while keeping the satire sharp and straight-faced

So, does this combo work?

Fans are not asking for subtle. They want propaganda speeches, heroic last stands that were maybe not necessary, and comedy that lands precisely because nobody in the story thinks it is comedy. If Lin brings scale and structure and Dauberman locks the tone, this could actually thread the needle. If not, expect a very expensive bug hunt.

Curious where you land: nervous that a non-gamer is steering this drop, or intrigued by the chance to reinterpret Helldivers for a wider audience?