SEGA Casts Isabela Merced as Lead for The House of the Dead Film as Company Targets a New Tentpole Franchise
SEGA is making a clear play to expand its Hollywood footprint beyond Sonic, with a new report confirming Isabela Merced has been tapped to lead the upcoming film adaptation of The House of the Dead. Merced is widely recognized by audiences as Dina in HBO’s The Last of Us and is also set to appear as Hawkgirl in James Gunn’s recent Superman film, putting her in a strong position to anchor a genre franchise with mainstream visibility and real momentum behind her screen presence.
The casting and broader franchise intent were confirmed in a report from Deadline, which frames The House of the Dead as a top priority inside SEGA’s film strategy. The goal, according to the report, is not a one and done adaptation, but an immersive series of films positioned in the same business lane as the Sonic movies, while still delivering a fresh take on a legacy zombie property that has decades of recognition across arcades and consoles.
The report also confirms Paul W S Anderson is attached to write and direct. That choice signals the tone SEGA is likely going for, because Anderson’s filmography has long lived in kinetic action and creature driven spectacle, and he is strongly associated with blockbuster scale horror action through his work on the Resident Evil films. In the context of The House of the Dead, it is a pairing built for momentum, because the brand identity has always leaned into fast pacing, grotesque enemies, and the kind of set piece escalation that fits a theatrical crowd experience.
Anderson emphasized his personal connection to the series and positioned the project as a multi film plan, saying he views it as the start of a tentpole franchise that can explore SEGA’s world and lore across a whole series of films. SEGA executive and producer Toru Nakahara reinforced that direction, highlighting Merced as a fit for the heroine role and describing a focus on a visually striking and immersive experience powered by compelling actors and terrifying creatures designed to bring the universe to life on the big screen. The production company Story Kitchen also framed the collaboration as a major alignment of partners and talent around an iconic property.
From a gaming industry lens, the most important signal here is SEGA’s language around priority and franchise building. This is not simply another adaptation announcement. It is a deliberate attempt to create a repeatable content pipeline where the film side can amplify the game side, and potentially reopen the door for modern House of the Dead games if the movie reaches escape velocity with new audiences. The last major beat for the IP on the game side was the 2022 remake, and a successful film run could easily serve as the catalyst for a broader revival plan, especially if SEGA aims to create the same cross media flywheel it has benefited from with Sonic.
For now, no release timing was shared, and the production appears to be in early stages. But with a recognizable lead, a director with proven genre instincts, and SEGA openly treating the project as a flagship initiative, The House of the Dead is being positioned as one of the more aggressive video game adaptation bets currently building in the market.
Do you want The House of the Dead film to lean into arcade style camp and chaos, or should it go darker and more serious to compete with modern zombie cinema?
