Donald Glover is lining up the next big video game adaptation at Netflix.
Glover, who previously shepherded such series as “Atlanta” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” will write, direct, executive produce and star the project based on the popular video game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (“PUBG”), which is now in development at the streamer. The player-versus-player shooter from Krafton is an early entry in the battle royale subgenre (named after Kinji Fukasaku’s 2000 Japanese film “Battle Royale”) that “Fortnite” also belongs to.
Stephen Glover, Donald’s brother who also wrote on “Atlanta” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” will additionally serve as a writer and executive producer for the series. Additional executive producers include Michael Schaefer for Neon TV; Fam Udeorji for Gilga; and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee for LV3H (Krafton’s entertainment entity).
It’s unclear what exactly the story of the series will be, as “PUBG” does not have as direct of a story to adapt as projects like “The Last of Us” or “Uncharted.” However, video game adaptations have seen plenty of success in the last few years by carving their own paths.
“Resident Evil” saw Zach Cregger tell a unique story by using established lore as a backdrop, while “A Minecraft Movie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” took games with looser narratives (perhaps closer to “PUBG”) and did something entirely original. Glover himself appeared in the “Mario” sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” as Yoshi — at his own request.
“PUBG” is but one of many video game projects currently lined up at Netflix, including a live-action “Assassin’s Creed” series, a live-action “Gears of War” film and animated shows based on “Clash of Clans,” “Magic: The Gathering” and “Minecraft.” Netflix also already has established series based on “Cyberpunk,” “Splinter Cell” and “Devil May Cry.” These all come amid a boom in video game adaptations in film and television, many of which have been met with far more success than the lackluster attempts at mining gaming IP in the past.
