Netflix is developing a movie based on the 2003 Ubisoft video game ‘Beyond Good & Evil’ to be directed by Rob Letterman, who helmed last year’s ‘Detective Pikachu’, which took in $436 million in worldwide ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing movie based on a video game ever. Like that film, ‘Beyond Good & Evil’ will be a live-action/animation hybrid.
Among Letterman’s previous directorial efforts have been ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, ‘Goosebumps’ (which also mixed live-action and animation), and the fully animated ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ and ‘Shark Tale’. Letterman and producers Jason Altman and Margaret Boykin (for Ubisoft Film & Television) are currently seeking writers.
‘Beyond Good & Evil’ is set on a mining planet in outer space in the 25th century, and follows Jade, an intrepid photojournalist who becomes instrumental in a resistance movement against alien invaders called DomZ. She is accompanied by Pey’j, a paternal boar-like creature. The game is a mixture of adventure, puzzle-solving, and combat.
It was critically acclaimed when it was released in 2003 and even nominated for Game of the Year, but was a financial flop. Even so, because of its quality, it has developed a cult following. A sequel, ‘Beyond Good & Evil 2’ has been in the works for a few years now, but has not yet been released.
Obviously, ‘Beyond Good & Evil’ is not a household name like Pikachu or Sonic, so it is sort of surprising that it’s getting a live-action movie at all, but considering that fact, it makes sense to develop it for a streaming service like Netflix, rather than theaters.
This news follows on the heels of the announcement that Netflix is developing an anime series based on another Ubisoft game, ‘Splinter Cell’. Derek Kolstad, who created the ‘John Wick’ film series, will write and executive produce that project.
What do you think? Are you a fan of the game? Are you excited about a potential movie?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
