Amazon’s long-awaited Mass Effect series is starting to take shape. The streamer has brought on Doug Jung, best known for Apple TV+’s Chief of War, to serve as showrunner, while Fast & Furious 9 writer Dan Casey has reportedly been developing the script since 2023.
In celebration of this year’s N7 Day, fans finally got a few exciting updates about the live-action adaptation, and the new details have already ignited plenty of buzz (and debate) across the fandom.
According to BioWare, the series is still in the writing phase and will introduce an entirely new set of characters, taking place after the events of the games rather than revisiting Commander Shepard’s iconic story.
Over on the site, Mike Gamble Executive Producer, Mass Effect, shared, "Beyond the next game, there’s more to get excited about. I haven’t talked about it much, but you might have heard a little something about a TV series? We’ve been partnering closely with Amazon on it, and we’re really excited with what the talented team over there is coming up with."
"The writers room is going strong, and we’ve got a lot figured out about how it fits within the Mass Effect canon, and where it sits in respect to the new game. The show will explore a brand-new story within the universe’s timeline, and will be set after the original trilogy. It won’t be a retread of Commander Shepard’s story – because after all … that’s YOUR story, isn’t it? "
Fans have mainly reacted positively to the news, and some have even felt relieved. One of the main anxieties about the project was that the show could have to pick a "canon" version of Commander Shepard, which would mean that choices like gender, origin story, significant decisions, and romances would be set in stone.
Still, not everyone is completely on board as some fans can’t help but feel just a twinge of disappointment. It's well noted that the emotional core of the original Mass Effect games lies in the relationships between Shepard and his loyal Normandy crew members such as Garrus, Liara, Tali, as their adventures and interactions brought much-needed heart and soul to the over-the-top sci-fi aspect of the series.