Canadian Screen Award-winning filmmaker Rob McCallum is taking on an adaptation of game designer John Romero’s autobiography Doom Guy: Life in First Person as his next feature doc project.

McCallum is on board to write and direct the film, which is currently in development. Ontario-based exec producer Naomi Harvey secured the deal for the adaptation as well as a scripted series, and both projects will be produced under her Golden Possum Productions banner.

With the story’s international appeal, the production team will be looking to tap into coproduction opportunities, possibly a Canada/U.K./U.S. copro, Harvey told Playback Daily.

Doom Guy: Life in First Person, which was published by Abrams Press in 2023, looks at the untold story of Romero’s Mexican, Cherokee, Yaqui heritage and his journey to becoming an renowned video game designer. His work includes such titles as of Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake.

“Talking with both Rob and Naomi, I knew they were the perfect team to bring Doom Guy to life. Our backgrounds and aspirations have uncanny similarities, and I trust them to tell the story,” Romero said in a statement.

McCallum, recently won Best Direction, Documentary Program at the 2024 CSAs for Prime Video’s Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (marblemedia, Hawkeye Pictures).

Pictured (L-R) Rob McCallum (at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards; photo by George Pimentel), John Romero (image courtesy of Abrams Press), Naomi Harvey