‘Mass Effect’ Amazon Series Will Not “Retread” Original Trilogy, Instead Tell “A Brand-New Story Within The Universe’s Timeline”
Rather than opening themselves up to the Pandora’s Box of continuity issues and fan expectations inherent to playing around in already-established canon, BioWare has announced that rather than trying to play around with Commander Shepard’s story, Amazon’s upcoming Mass Effect series will instead tell an original story set well after the Reapers’ defeat.
This brief update on BioWare’s overall operations was provided by series executive producer Mike Gamble via a blog post published in honor of this year’s N7 Day, an unofficial Mass Effect fan day celebrated on November 7th and named after the highest rank an individual can obtain in the franchise’s fictional Interplanetary Combatives Training program.
Kicking off this blog poste began with a reassurance that “the next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe.”
The truth is, the last few years have been an incredibly busy time at BioWare. But currently, the team is heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect. We have a lot of universe to cover, lots of features to build, and lots of romances to figure out. We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show. Until then, thank you for your patience because y’all are thirsty for news and I see you looking for secret meaning in my tweets (okay, sometimes they have secret meaning).
From there, Gamble turned to the games’ Amazon adaptation, asserting, “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,” he explained. “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?”
First announced as officially in development as part of last year’s N7 Day festivities, Amazon’s Mass Effect will be written and executive produced by F9 (of the Fast & Franchise) scribe Daniel Casey, who will also executive produce the series alongside Gamble, former Marvel Television SVP Karim Zreik, who oversaw the MCU’s Netflix Defender line, and Borderlands producer Ari Arad (not to be confused with his more noted superhero producer brother, Avi).
In receiving its only update in the time since its initial announcement, this past June saw the confirmation of Star Trek Beyond writer Doug Jung as the Mass Effect series showrunner.
To this end, as a result of being so early in development, the Mass Effect series does not yet have a confirmed release date.
Meanwhile, as part of the larger N7 Day 2025, Mass Effect fans looking for their next fix can pick up “free crossover items” for skate. and Apex Legends.
