In keeping with the current trend of adapting video games into movies,Bandai Namco Entertainment and Wayfarer Studios will be tackling a live-actionPac-Manproject. Also involved in the project is Chuck Williams of Lightbeam Entertainment, who has had previous success in adaptingSonic the Hedgehogand its sequel for the big screen.
Wayfarer Studios was founded by Justin Baldoni (Jane the Virgin) and Steve Sarowitz. Baldoni, Manu Gargi, and Andrew Calof are set to producePac-Man, while Williams and Tim Kwok will also join as producers on the project on behalf of Lightbeam.
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Per The Hollywood Reporter, thePac-Manfilm will be based on an original idea conceived by Williams himself. Thehugely popular video gamePac-Manhas been around since the 1980s and remains a classic to this day. The game features the titular Pac-Man navigating mazes of increasing difficulty while gobbling up dots and Power Pellets and avoiding four ghosts. Once Pac-Man can munch a Power Pellet, the ghosts turn blue and can be eaten for bonus points for a short amount of time. The aim of the game is to rack up the points and clear all the dots in the maze to progress. The game was so popular that it spawned a huge amount of sequels, includingMs. Pac-Man,Super Pac-Man, andPac In Time, to name just a few.
There has also been a steady stream of merchandise with everything from plush toys to phones to a $20,000 14-karat goldMs. Pac-Manchoker. Merchandise alone for the series had generated over one billion dollars in revenue by 1982 alone. The game has also had two previous on-screen adaptations in the form of animated series. The first, simply titledPac-Man, was produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran from 1982 to 1983. In 2013, the computer animated seriesPac-Man and the Ghostly Adventuresaired on Disney XD.
The announcement follows a resurgence in video game adaptations, with aSuper Mario Brosfilm starring Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario and aTetrisfilm starring Taron Egerton on the horizon. These projects follow other recent adaptations such as theSonic the Hedgehogfilm and its sequel starring Ben Schwartz as the blue blur and the recent movie andtelevision adaptations ofResident Evil.
At the time of the announcement, there are no plot details or casting decisions available, which begs the question, what could a live-actionPac-Manmovie be about? Although there’s no information available, the adaptation is in good hands with Williams after the surprise blockbustersuccess of bothSonicfilms.
