Hollywood has adapted many video games for cinema, but one of the most popular games of all time has eluded it so far: Pac man, the hugely popular 1980s arcade cabinet that launched an entire game franchise about a cheerful little yellow dude (or sometimes his bow-wielding wife). During the games heyday in the 80s, several attempts were made, but none ever took off. There was a short-lived anime series and then a second series in the 2010s, but that’s about it.
But with several video game movies like the Sonic big-money-making franchise in recent years (and with the highly anticipated Super Mario Bros. animated film already in development), there seems to be a resurgence of interest in this old ghost- and pellet-guzzling hero. The Hollywood Reporter said a “live-action movie” based on Pac man is now in development. They claim that “the project will be based on an original idea by Chuck Williams (sonic the hedgehog) from Lightbeam Entertainment. Bandai Namco, the company that owns the rights to Pac-Man is also involved.
So a live Pac-Man? What are we talking about here? How will be this work? Will it feature Pedro Pascal as the all-yellow makeup dude? An animated film that I could relate to. It’s hard to imagine Pac-Man in any medium outside of cartoons or comics – at least in a way that wouldn’t be unintentionally off-putting or bizarrely hilarious. But that’s why I’m writing these blog posts here and not making $100 million movies based on old arcade games about little yellow guys.
Have you ever seen the old Pac man animated series. It was… something else. We leave you with this fascinating overview.
