Hollywood studios are clearly pulling from whatever video game well they can, as apparently an Oregon Trail movie is next up on the docket.
It might be a bit forgotten about by wider gaming audiences these days, but it’s hard to deny that the original Oregon Trail is an iconic game. Literally everyone that’s played it will have died from some stupid thing or the other, often dysentery, honestly arguably making it one of the earlier comedy games – what’s funnier than your cart breaking down because you didn’t think to stock enough feed for your ox three towns ago! Whether it’s a particularly riveting narrative or not, well, I’d lean more towards the latter, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, there’s enough there to make a film adaptation of the classic game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the film has landed at Apple, the very same computer manufacturer that the 1985 version, the version you’re probably thinking of when you recall The Oregon Trail, was released on. Apparently it’s still in early development, with directing duo Will Speck and Josh Gordon attached to direct. You’ll probably know them best for the 2007 film Blades of Glory, if you remember that Will Ferrell and Jon Heder joint, but they also worked on the animated Marvel series Hit-Monkey. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will compose the film’s score, with sources telling The Hollywood Reporter that there’ll be a couple of original musical numbers in the vein of barbie. These two also wrote Dear Evan Hansen, so, up to you if this is a win or not.
Kenny and Keith Lucas are teaming up with Max Reisman to pen the screenplay, with Caroline Fraser producing for HarperCollins Productions (HarperCollins best known for being a publisher, but is also the rights holder to The Oregon Trail Apparently) alongside Kevin K. Vafi.
Who knows how this one will turn out, there’s plenty of other weird game adaptations in the works, so eventually Hollywood will realise it can’t milk every single game in existence.
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