Director/Producer Eddie Lebron mentioned last week that his latest film — a live-action adaptation of the classic video game series Mega Man (ロックマン in Japan) — will be available for a test screening at the upcoming comics & games convention MagFest in Virginia. This is big news for fans who have been anxiously awaiting the movie, but will Eddie release the final cut anytime soon or will we have another two to three months to wait? Considering Eddie said the film would be complete two months ago, we may still have a little while longer to go.

Eddie also mentioned one of his college pals will be making a Mega Man teaser comic book prequeling (Is that even a word? It is now!) the movie by portraying Wily’s and Lights early years. Of course, none of this is canon, just as the Mega Man comics aren’t canon, nor are the videos I’ve traumatized some of you with. I’m not too interested in the comic, personally, but it’s nice to see some Americans in the 21st century giving Rock (that’s Mega Man’s name) some attention. After all, the series takes place at the latest this year (200X), unless of course that’s not based on a Gregorian calendar.

So what does this all mean for the Mega Man fanbase? Some naturally are infuriated, thinking this will be yet another vasectomy of a great game series. This is understandable, as we’ve seen throughout the past the tragic waste of many great games on the big screen in live action (Super Mario Bros., Doom, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider, Double Dragon, House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, Wing Commander, The Chronicles of Riddick, Silent Hill, Resident Evil). Games have tended to fair better in the animated film industry than in the live-action medium. That said, there are still many Megafans that are anxious to see a live-action adaptation of the series. The challenge is making a coherent story out of a series that only had a minor semblance of a plot. Resident Evil had a story, but Mega Man is about as thinly woven as Super Mario Bros. The plus side to all this is Eddie Lebron doesn’t work for Hollywood, so don’t expect to see much product placement, over-the-top special effects or Roll in a bikini.

Follow my blog for the release of the film, or check Eddie’s site for updates. You can find it at http://www.megamanfilm.com and access the forum from there, which Eddie himself reads and personally replies to.