You can count the number of board games that have been turned into live-action movies on one hand. Clue, Battleship and Ouija.
We suppose Dungeons & Dragons could qualify, though purists would scoff at it being referred to as a "board game."
Thanks to Hasbro's ongoing attempts to make movies of its various toy properties, Lionsgate Films is preparing to add another board game movie to that list. Hasbro's been trying to get a Monopoly movie made since 2008, and today, a big step has been taken to bring it to pass — with a surprising name attached.
Andrew Niccol, screenwriter of Gattaca, The Truman Show, The Terminal and others, is handling the script. There's no word yet on a director or whether Niccol might be interested in the job.
How can you turn a board game about real estate into an entertaining feature film? According to Hasbro, it's going to be about "a boy from Baltic Avenue who uses both Chance and Community in a quest to make his fortune, taking him on a fun, adventure-filled journey. It's about making your own luck, what makes you truly rich, and of course, avoiding Jail time!"
Yes, Hasbro really wrote those words in a press release — presumably, with a straight face.
Lionsgate expects it to be "visually sumptuous," which suggests stylized imagery. The studio also wants it to be a "big, crowd-pleasing event film." That's a tall order for a board game. Granted, it's the best selling board game of all time. But still.
Clue, Battleship and Ouija were all based on board game brands owned by Hasbro, just as the Transformers and G.I. Joe films were. It was the success of those movies that prompted Hasbro to launch its own film studio. Previously announced Hasbro properties also in various stages of development include Jem and the Holograms, Hungry Hungry Hippos, an animated My Little Pony flick, Magic: The Gathering, Tonka based on the iconic toy trucks, a live-action Play-Doh movie (in the vein of The Lego Movie) and more.
No projected release date has been revealed for Monopoly.
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