Video game movies are a hot commodity in modern Hollywood. For several decades, movie studios have struggled to transfer the magic of video games to the silver screen. Until very recently, almost every single film inspired by a video game has been either unremarkable or laughable. However, Hollywood is finally starting to crack the code to replicate video games' complex genome for cinematic adaptations. Despite protestations around Chris Pratt's performance as the title character, Illumination's Super Mario Brothers movie looks like it has the potential to usher in a tidal wave of video game films.
Consequently, similar to the cinematic universe craze of the early 2010s, countless movie studios are beginning to eye the rights to classic video games in search of the next big cash cow. Since the field is relatively untouched, you'd imagine most studios would opt for the most beloved titles in the medium. However, it looks like we're getting a ToeJam & Earl movie long before a Grand Theft Auto or God of War flick.
The 1990s SEGA video game ToeJam & Earl is in the works as a feature film at Amazon Studios, also hailing from Stephen Curry's Unanimous Media and Story Kitchen.
ToeJam & Earl, created by Mark Voorsanger and Greg Johnson, centers on two space-alien rappers who come to Earth seeking a cure for the disease eradicating their home planet's rhythm, funk and groove.
The synopsis for the project continues: "Earth, their legends tell them, is the Paradise where the music that created their culture originated. Unfortunately for our heroes, not only do they wreck their ship, but they find that Earth is . . . well, not the haven they expected. But the music – that part was true. So begins their quest to find as much of that music as they can in the hope of saving their planet, and maybe ours as well."
