Sony announces Bloodborne animated film with JackSepticEye producing, and it will be R-rated
Eleven years after the game first launched on PlayStation 4, Bloodborne is finally getting a film adaptation. Sony Pictures has officially announced at CinemaCon 2026 that a Bloodborne animated film is in development, and it will carry an R-rating. The studio has promised the project will stay faithful to the game’s dark, gory, and deeply unsettling nature, which has earned it a devoted fanbase since its 2015 release.
What we know about the Bloodborne animated film
The announcement was made by Sanford Panitch, President of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, during Sony’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas. Panitch confirmed that the adaptation will be “very true to the gory spirit of Bloodborne,” signalling that Sony has no intention of softening the source material for a broader audience.
The Bloodborne animated film is co-produced by PlayStation Productions, animation studio Lyrical Animation, and content creator Seán McLoughlin, better known online as JackSepticEye. The project is also co-financed by Lyrical Media, the parent company of Lyrical Animation.
No release date has been confirmed, and plot details are not yet public. It is not yet known whether the film will adapt the main storyline of the game directly or take a different approach, such as a prequel or an original story set within the same world.
Why JackSepticEye?
JackSepticEye is an Irish YouTube creator with over 31 million subscribers, known for his gaming content. His connection to Bloodborne is well-established among his audience. His Bloodborne playthrough series has been watched by close to five million people, and he has publicly called it his favourite game ever made.
Following the announcement, McLoughlin posted on Reddit confirming his involvement and his commitment to getting it right. He wrote that he would “do everything in my power to make this the best Bloodborne adaptation possible,” acknowledging the intensity of the game’s fanbase and the weight of expectation that comes with adapting such a beloved title.
His involvement follows a pattern seen with Mark Fischbach, better known as Markiplier, who recently produced his own horror film project. The two are longtime collaborators, and McLoughlin’s role as producer here reflects Sony’s strategy of involving creators who have genuine, documented connections to the IP rather than simply licensing it out.
What is Bloodborne?
For those less familiar with the game, Bloodborne is an action RPG developed by FromSoftware, the Japanese studio also responsible for Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2015 exclusively for the PlayStation 4, the game is set in the Gothic Victorian city of Yharnam, a once-grand settlement now consumed by a plague that has transformed its inhabitants into horrific, bestial creatures.
Players take on the role of a Hunter, sent into the city to investigate the source of the affliction. The game is known for its punishing difficulty, intricate lore that rewards careful reading and exploration, and its heavy visual influence from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has cited Lovecraft as one of his primary inspirations for the game’s world and tone.
Bloodborne remains exclusive to the PS4, playable via backwards compatibility on PS5. Despite the game’s critical acclaim and lasting cultural presence, Sony has released nothing further for the franchise in the decade since its launch.
The Bloodborne remake that never happened
The announcement of the animated film comes months after Bloomberg reported that Bluepoint Games, the Sony first-party studio behind acclaimed remakes of Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus, had pitched a Bloodborne remake for modern hardware. The project was reportedly blocked by FromSoftware.
Miyazaki reportedly wants to handle any Bloodborne remake himself but acknowledged being too occupied with other projects to do so. He has also stated that he does not want anyone else working on it, leaving the IP in a kind of limbo as far as a game remaster or sequel is concerned. The animated film represents Sony finding an alternative route to bring Bloodborne content to its audience without requiring FromSoftware’s direct involvement in the production.
Part of a much bigger Sony video game push
The Bloodborne animated film is far from the only game-to-screen project Sony announced at CinemaCon 2026. The studio revealed several other adaptations in various stages of development:
Helldivers: A live-action film directed by Justin Lin, who is known for multiple entries in the Fast and Furious franchise. Jason Momoa is attached to star. Filming is expected to begin within weeks.
Resident Evil: Director Zach Cregger unveiled first footage from his Resident Evil adaptation, which is set to premiere later this year. Cregger has described the project as a more horror-focused take on the franchise than previous film adaptations.
The Legend of Zelda: Sony is collaborating with Nintendo on a live-action Zelda film, directed by Wes Ball. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason are cast as Link and Princess Zelda respectively.
This wave of announcements signals that Sony is committing seriously to expanding its PlayStation game library into film and television, building on the momentum generated by the success of HBO’s The Last of Us series.
What fans are hoping for
The game’s community has waited a long time for any sign of life from this IP. While the absence of a remake or sequel has been a long-running frustration, the announcement of the animated film has been met with cautious excitement by many fans, tempered by the usual concerns around whether a beloved and notoriously lore-dense game can be adapted without losing what makes it special.
The R-rating is a reassuring signal. Bloodborne’s identity is inseparable from its violence, body horror, and oppressive atmosphere. A sanitised version would have struggled to capture why the game resonates so deeply with its audience. The involvement of someone with McLoughlin’s genuine passion for the material also offers some reassurance that the production is not treating it as a simple licensing exercise.
Whether the Bloodborne animated film lives up to the weight of expectation remains to be seen. For now, its existence alone is more than the fanbase has had to celebrate in over a decade.
