Video games in movies and television are not often portrayed in the most positive of light. In the past, shows like NCIS have portrayed MMOG players as both delusional and as a psychotic killers in one episode, while Second Life’s debut on CSI: NY served as a hunting ground for a professional assassin. But IRL (In Real Life), an upcoming movie from Director Erik Leijonborg featuring Funcom's The Secret World (TSW), looks to tackle gaming and the problems of bullying from another angle.

IRL, based on the same novel as the Belgium movie Ben X, stars Valter Skarsgård (son of Stellan Skarsgård known from films such as 'Good Will Hunting', 'The Avengers' and 'Thor') as Elias, the story’s main character. Elias is often bullied and beaten at school and escapes into the universe of TSW where he meets a girl named Scarlet. Eventually the two decide to meet up in real life and become close friends. The movie features scenes from both real life and Elias’ escape into TSW.

Funcom also posted a Q&A with Leijonborg to answer a few more questions about the movie in its official TSW announcement.

– What are your feelings towards online gaming, especially in terms of the social aspects which the movie talks about?

It´s a big subject. Before I made the movie I believed that teenagers lived in two separate worlds. One IRL and one out on the net on different platforms and online games, Facebook, instagram etc.…But the more I got to know I realized it´s only one world. Everything you do is linked to yourself some how. I think you sometimes can be more true to yourself on the net, chatting to people. But on the other hand; you can be big and strong out on the net, but very small and sensitive in reality… You don´t have the same armor AFK.

As for what happens next, you can find out this Friday when the movie releases. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer below for a peek.

Source: TSW IRL Announcement



To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our The Secret World Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Stacy "Martuk" Jones was a long-time news editor and community manager for many of our previous game sites, such as Age of Conan. Stacy has since moved on to become a masked super hero, battling demons in another dimension.

Comments