The debate over whether a series should be a continuation or its own entity is a prominent topic, prompted by YouTuber Patrick Willems’ introduction of “The Super Mario Super Spectrum of Adaptation Fidelity”. This spectrum, which places the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie at one end and the 2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie at another, raises questions about the balance between crafting an interesting movie and catering to fans.
The scale proves to be a useful measurement in light of the growing trend in video game adaptations, exemplified by successful adaptations such as The Last of Us for HBO and the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Creators are finding ways to be faithful to the source material while making smaller choices that can have a significant impact on fans’ perceptions of the series.
One crucial decision involves how to handle canon within the adaptation. With the Fallout TV series, creators have sought to seamlessly integrate it into the existing video game world, akin to The Wachowskis’ transmedia approach to The Matrix.
This is in contrast to many adaptations, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which exist in separate continuities from their source material. In the case of The Last of Us, showrunners made significant decisions to align the television adaptation with the game’s universe, such as moving the outbreak date to maintain immediacy.
However, this also meant that the characters on the show would differ from those in the games, presenting unique challenges in staying true to the source material. This issue is further highlighted by the distinction between player-created characters in the Fallout games and established characters like Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us, posing different demands for adaptation.
As more video games are adapted into film and television, creators will continue to grapple with the challenge of maintaining fidelity to the source material while making choices that impact the adaptation’s canon. These decisions will undoubtedly fall somewhere on the spectrum of adaptation fidelity.
