The Garfield Movie, starring Chris Pratt as the titular Garfield the cat, is set to get a video game adaptation, per news from Deadline. According to the outlet, a whole slew of upcoming movies are being lined up for game adaptations, with a view to spread their appeal across multiple forms of media.
The plan has been formulated by a Sino-American fund known as Stars-Hana, which is comprised of three companies in partnership: Stars Collective, Hana Investment, and Starlight Media. Their goal is apparently to invest in multiple entertainment verticals over the next three years, with this including ambitions in the film, TV, comics, games, collectibles, consumer goods, AI, and new tech markets.
“This initiative marks a significant stride in blending the worlds of cinema and gaming, promising a diverse array of entertainment options for audiences worldwide,” Peter Luo, Starlight Media CEO and founder of Stars Collective said.
“There are tremendous opportunities to extend stories beyond film, and video games carry equal weight in terms of their broad impact and ability to enhance IP,” William Li and Nancy Xu, Stars Collective Co-CEOs added. “Looking deeply into the Stars Collective’s IP portfolio, we saw a natural opportunity to connect with audiences through the touchpoints they engage with most to cultivate and grow IP, which is why we are deploying funds in this space alongside our partners at Hana.”
Read: Garfield Lasagna Party is a ‘succulent’ new party game
As revealed today, Stars-Hana has partnered with Chinese tech company Tencent (PUBG Mobile, Assassin’s Creed Jade) as well as the Tencent-owned DreamSky Technology, HYJZ, and Forevernine to develop video games based on the following films:
- The Garfield Movie
- Every House is Haunted (Sam Raimi, Roy Lee)
- The Burden (James Wan, Sam Raimi)
- Hunting Season (James Wan, Don Murphy)
- The Call of Cthlhu, Mass Extinction, GMO (James Wan)
- The Goxfather (Jon M. Chu)
- Memory Lost in Space (Based on novels by Tong Hua)
Of the projects listed, perhaps the most intriguing – beyond Garfield – is Call of Cthulhu. As noted by Deadline, this project is a “dream” for James Wan, and has been worked on for several years. It appears this will be based directly on the work of H.P. Lovecraft, rather than the famed tabletop game of the same name – which should present unique opportunity to explore more of Lovecraft’s nightmarish visions.
A video game adaptation of this tale will compete with the excellent work of Cyanide Studio, which developed Call of Cthulhu in 2018, but there’s always room for more horrifying video game adventures.
As for Garfield, we’ll have to wait to see what Stars-Hana has in store. In recent years, the lasagna-loving cat has received a number of video games – including a party game, and several racing games – but with these largely underwhelming, the upcoming adaptation has plenty of room to move.
Kids deserve a good Garfield game – particularly if the upcoming movie proves to be a loveable hit. We’ll likely learn more about this game, and other Stars-Hana productions, over the coming year.
