A live-action Pac-Man movie is currently in development from Bandai Namco Entertainment and Wayfarer Studios. The project was announced with little details other than it will be a live-action attempt, possibly to capitalise on the popularity of another highly successful video game-turned-Hollywood adaptation, Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Pac-Man movie will be helmed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, best known for other IPs including Tekken, as well as production company Wayfarer Studios, founded by Justin Baldoni and Steve Sarowitz. It will be based on an original idea by Lightbeam Entertainment’s Chuck Williams, who worked on Sonic the Hedgehog.

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Pac-Man first exploded into popularity in the early 1980s during the era of arcades, where it became one of the most recognisable icons in gaming. Players have to help Pac-Man navigate a maze to collect pellets and fruits while avoiding colourful ghosts chasing him. Next to Tetris and Super Mario Bros, Pac-Man is one of the most simplistic yet iconic video games of all time.

It’s debatable whether or not a live-action outing is the right choice for the project given the property’s vibrant world which would later be explored and expanded on in subsequent sequels and spin-offs. However, both Sonic the Hedgehog movies became box office successes and they adopted a live-action format, so it’s possible that Wayfarer Studios and Bandai Namco want to replicate that success.

Meanwhile, Nintendo and Illumination Studios, the animation company behind the Despicable Me series, are currently working on an fully-animated adaptation of Super Mario.

With all these classic video game properties now being eyed by Hollywood, hopefully the producers learn from Sonic the Hedgehog’s strengths and shortcomings to make a decent live-action adaptation of Pac-Man.

No release date has been announced for the Pac-Man movie.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter