Amazon Studios is working to bring Sega's surreal, hip-hop-inspired classic roguelike game ToeJam & Earl to the world of streaming films. That's right. The streaming service that threw a blank check at the new Lord of the Rings show, making it the most expensive show ever produced, is now turning its sights on that game that confused children back in the day.
As if that wasn't enough, the project comes from an NBA player and two Sonic the Hedgehog producers. As much as this sounds like a Mad-Lib, that's really what's happening. Stephen Curry, NBA star of the Golden State Warriors, is bringing his production company Unanimous Media up to the task of creating a ToeJam & Earl movie. Contrary to the popular belief, it looks like the groove never really stopped.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Unanimous Media will be joined by fellow production team Story Kitchen. The latter group consists of Sonic the Hedgehog (the movie) producers Dmitri M. Johnson and Dan Jevons along with writer and creator of the John Wick franchise, Derek Kolstad, though it's unclear whether Kolstad will be involved with this ambitious project. But what is known is that Amos Vernon and Nunzio Randazzo, who wrote for Hotel Transylvania 4, will take on the film's screenplay.
The film's synopsis was revealed by Amazon as well, and it's about as wacky as one would expect from a franchise that featured a chaotically helpful Santa Claus. "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."
As much fun as the ToeJam & Earl games are, it may be kind of tough for many fans to imagine how anyone could make a movie out of them. The video game movie curse is real, as BioShock's director knows, and it will likely take something truly creative and outside the box to deal with it. Fans are, quite often, the harshest critics. So there's a lot to deal with here.
Still, there are few games as intentionally and delightfully strange as ToeJam & Earl. Perhaps that will play in the movie's favor. However things go, it's certainly already starting things out with a bang, and that may be just what it needs.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter