There isn’t much about Pac-Man’s simple premise of “eat dots, avoid ghosts” that lends itself to feature-length storytelling. But when has that ever stopped Hollywood before? In news that we all should have seen coming, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Bandai Namco is teaming up with Wayfarer Studios on a Pac-Man movie, which (somehow) will be presented in live-action.
Apparently, we have Sonic the Hedgehog associate producer Chuck Williams to thank for this latest development. The upcoming film is based on an original idea from Williams. However, Wayfarer doesn’t have a writer or director in place yet. Wayfarer co-founder Justin Baldoni will produce the movie alongside Manu Gargi and Andrew Calof. Williams and Tim Kwok will produce the film as well through their Lightbeam Entertainment banner.
Namco’s original Pac-Man game hit the arcade scene in 1980 and quickly became a worldwide sensation. As the title character, players had to devour all the pellets inside a series of mazes without touching any of the four colored ghosts – Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde – in pursuit. Although video games have come a long way since then, Pac-Man marked a watershed moment for the industry, and its iconic sound effects remain etched into gamers’ collective consciousness, even among those who never actually played it.
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Over the next few decades, Pac-Man spawned a number of sequels and tie-in merchandise. But in 1982, Hanna-Barbera gave the character his first animated series on ABC, starring Marty Ingels as Pac-Man. In 2013, Disney XD began airing Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, a new CG-animated series featuring Erin Matthews as the voice of Pac-Man. The show lasted for three seasons before ending in 2015.
Pac-Man has never headlined his own movie before, but not for lack of trying. Various attempts to get a film adaptation off the ground have stalled since the franchise’s ‘80s heyday. Regardless, Pac-Man has shown up as a character in other movies, including Pixels and Wreck-It Ralph.
What are your hopes for a live-action Pac-Man movie? Let us know in the comment section below!
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