Red Dead Redemption Live-Action Movie Demand Rises After Henry Cavill’s Arthur Morgan Fan Cast Post Goes Viral

Fans knew Henry Cavill was a video game fan, but this particular project might be too good to be true.

Calls for a Red Dead Redemption movie reached a fever pitch after a viral post casting Henry Cavill as franchise figurehead Arthur Morgan went viral.

Rockstar Games’ beloved cowboy-centric video game franchise has wowed fans since the Grand Theft Auto developer took over the series in 2010.

However, just like GTA and despite Red Dead‘s popularity, the fan-favorite gaming world has never made it to the big screen, even if fans have been clamoring for it since day one.

Calls Ring Out for a Read Dead Redemption Movie

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A viral fan-casting has fans itching for a movie adaptation of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption.

The post seemed to insinuate Man of Steel star Henry Cavill was set to take on the role of Arthur Morgan—the protagonist of the acclaimed Red Dead Redemption II—in a big-screen take on the beloved video game franchise.

However, that does not seem to be the case. The post originates from an account known for fan-casting, specializing in fake fan-made movie info.

Despite what seems to be plenty of demand, no real Red Dead movie featuring Cavill is in the works. The image in the post—which shows the actor standing next to a white horse—seems to be a selfie from the actor’s Instagram page in 2019.

Fans also may have seen a trailer for an alleged Red Dead movie featuring the British actor going around online, but that, too, seems to be the work of enterprising fans dreaming of a particular project rather than real movie marketing.

This is not the first time a Rockstar property has been given the fake movie treatment. In October 2024, alleged information about a Grand Theft Auto film starring Will Smith made its way online, yet it was (to the disappointment of many) debunked.

Will a Red Dead Redemption Movie Happen?

Just because the Red Dead movie is not real does not mean Cavill would oppose taking on the iconic gaming role one day. The former Superman actor has proven he is a nerd at heart, publicly loving video games over the years.

The actor previously starred in Netflix’s Witcher series (based on the oft-celebrated CD Projekt Red series of RPGs) and is set to produce and star in an upcoming movie adaptation of the sci-fi tabletop franchise Warhammer 40K (read more about the Warhammer movie here).

A Red Dead Redemption film has never been something Rockstar Games or its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, have (at least publicly) shown an iota of interest in. That is not to say it would never happen, though.

Take-Two recently entered the world of big-screen adaptations of its popular IP, with the Bioshock movie currently in development and the long-awaited release Borderlands.

While many industry experts considered Borderlands a flop, the gaming giant has at least shown that its catalog is not entirely out of Hollywood’s question.

However, in 2023, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick mentioned on a company earnings call (via VentureBeat) that the brand is going to be “very selective” about what properties it adapts, only picking things it defines as worth the financial risk:

“It’s a really hard business, and we’re not going to bet this company’s future, or the value of our intellectual property, based on someone else’s execution in another area of the entertainment business. So we’ll continue to be very selective indeed.”

While a Red Dead film is not impossible, it would have to be something that Take-Two feels is worth pursuing creatively and financially.