Adi Shankar, the producer behind Netflix’s Castlevania, is set to bring another popular video game franchise to the small screen. The filmmaker has been tapped by Krafton Inc for a new PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) animated project. While details are slim right now, the project has been billed as a series, not a movie. It will adapt the wildly popular battle royale video game for the first time into another medium.
According to Krafton, the company behind PUBG, Adi Shankar is set to create and serve as showrunner of the upcoming series. There is no word yet on how far along the project is, or where it will ultimately air. Though he does have a good working relationship with Netflix, and the streaming service is hungry for possible franchises right now. Adi Shankar had this to say about it.
“As a player, I’ve been crushing the competition in the Battlegrounds since PUBG released in 2017. I’m grateful to Krafton for the trust and confidence they’ve placed in me to execute my vision as a filmmaker and I’m excited to embark on this journey together. To me, this animated project represents another step in the evolution of mending the torched bridge between the games industry and Hollywood. I look forward to revealing to everybody what winning a chicken dinner looks like.”
As Hollywood becomes increasingly desperate for franchises, high-profile video game adaptations have become more commonplace. Resident Evil, The Last of Us, Twisted Metal, Mass Effect and many others are in various stages of development, at various networks and streaming services currently. Krafton, like many other video game studios, is looking to branch out into other forms of media and get while the gettin’ is good. CH Kim, CEO of Krafton Inc., had this to say.
“In addition to the continued development of new and engaging in-game PUBG content, our partnership with Adi Shankar represents a step into our broader strategy of expanding the PUBG Universe into a multimedia franchise. We are excited to work with Shankar on exploring and realizing a world that brings the game to life for our fans. We look forward to sharing more about this animated project in the near future.”
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, typically shortened to PUBG, is an online battle royale style game, not unlike Fortnite, that was initially launched in December 2017. How, precisely, a story will be crafted around that style of gameplay remains to be seen. It has since become one of the most popular video games on the planet. It counts more than 55 million players across its various platforms, with more than 70 million copies sold. With numbers like that, it’s easy to see why this might be ripe for an adaptation.
Adi Shankar, meanwhile, already proved he can adapt a video game to great success with Castlevania. The anime was met with an exceptional critical response and is getting a spin-off. Some of Shankar’s other credits include Dredd, The Grey and Lone Survivor. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news comes to us directly from PUBG.com.
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