'Fortnite' maker Epic Games branches into film with animation about Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh

The video game giant will back a feature-length animation based on 'The Epic of Gilgamesh'

'Fortnite' maker Epic Games is backing an animated feature film about Gilgamesh. Instagram / Hook Up Animation  

An epic poem about Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh has inspired a new animated film, backed by Fortnite maker Epic Games.

The video game giant will fund a feature-length animation about the semi-mythological character and protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

It is the first known film grant bestowed by Epic Games' Epic MegaGrants programme, according to Deadline.

The film, a collaboration between Latin American animation studio Hook Up and Argentinia's DuermeVela and FilmSharks, will focus on the tales and tribulations of Gilgamesh, using Epic’s Unreal Engine technology.

Historians believe the hero to have mostly likely been a king of Uruk, an ancient Sumerian city located in modern-day Iraq. He is most famously known as the namesake of the third millennium BC Mesopotamian poem – the earliest known great work of literature – about man's struggle for immortality.

The poem is said to have influenced Homer's epics Odyssey and Iliad.

The animated adaption, directed by Argentinian filmmaker Tomas Lipgot, will be focused around Gilgamesh’s quest as well as his relationship with friend and comrade Enkidu.

"It's an honour to see Epic Games supporting Gilgamesh through the Epic MegaGrants programme," FilmSharks' chief executive Guido Rud told Deadline.

"Although animation has done an excellent job of entertaining through comedy and colourful creatures, there is also a huge appetite and opportunity to share cultural stories and tell larger-than-life mythical tales.”

No release date has yet been detailed for Gilgamesh