Highlights
- Creator of Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe, is open to a movie adaptation if big names like David Lynch or Studio Ghibli are involved.
- Stardew Valley has been a huge financial success, selling over 20 million copies. ConcernedApe is currently working on updates and a new project.
- ConcernedApe is protective of the Stardew Valley brand and characters, but would make an exception if approached by Studio Ghibli or David Lynch.
Stardew Valley’s creator ConcernedApe, also known as Eric Barone, has recently affirmed that he would agree with a movie adaptation of the franchise, but only if some big names like David Lynch or Studio Ghibli were involved. Stardew Valley is one of the more successful IPs in gaming due to its unique charm, soul, and the fact that it sparked a trend of farming sims, so a movie adaptation would certainly be exciting for fans.
Released back in February 2016, Stardew Valley was a major financial success, selling over 20 million copies so far. Right now, ConcernedApe is working on an update for Stardew Valley, and the next project on his list is Haunted Chocolatier, but it seems that a movie adaptation of the famous farming sim is not completely impossible.
Stardew Valley Player Encounters Very Rare Event During Their First Year
A player in Stardew Valley comes across an extremely rare event during the Winter season when they notice a couple of visitors.
During a recent interview with IGN, Eric Barone talked more about how he explores the Stardew Valley brand, which already has a board game and will have a music concert next year. He explained that he’s very protective of it, despite how popular the franchise is, and would not simply allow anyone to make a movie based on the Stardew Valley IP. The main reason for being so protective is that he feels it is risky to give voices to these already-established characters. However, if Studio Ghibli or David Lynch approached him, for example, he would definitely go for it, as he seems to admire these creators and believes in their capabilities of making a memorable experience with the IP.
"If Studio Ghibli approached me, I would probably say okay, let's do it (...) If David Lynch approached me and wanted to make a Stardew Valley movie, I would say go ahead, just do it." — Stardew Valley 's creator Eric Barone
Game-based Movies Are Becoming Very Popular
Movies inspired by video games are getting pretty popular now, with some of them achieving results that would have been impossible a few years ago. The Super Mario Bros Movie, for example, managed to gain over $1,360,000,000 worldwide, only losing to Barbie as the most profitable movie of 2023 so far. Other movies such as Sonic: The Hedgehog were also quite well received, with a box office of $306 million and a budget of 90 million, and positive reviews from the audience.
That’s not to say that all video game-inspired movies are doing so well. Despite being a financial success, the recent Gran Turismo movie got pretty mixed reviews from many gaming websites, for example, because it didn’t look like a movie inspired by a game. That would not likely be a problem for a Stardew Valley movie directed by either Lynch or Studio Ghibli, though. Either it would be a project led by one of the greatest directors alive in the United States or an animation made by one of the most beloved animation studios in Japan. In either case, it’s clear that most fans would be eager to see that happening.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a hit Indie release that spawned a cult following thanks to its similarities to titles like Harvest Moon and The Sims. Players will take control of their own characters as they are dropped into the eponymous Stardew Valley and given an old dilapidated farm. They'll cultivate new crops and relationships with the NPCs scattered around the area, as well as combat monsters and embark on other quests.
