New Film Deal Between Universal and Hasbro
February 21, 2008

On Wednesday Universal Pictures and toy conglomerate Hasbro struck a six-year partnership to turn some of Hasbro's most popular board games and toys into full length feature films. While word of possible big screen translations of Monopoly and CandyLand trickled out on the Internet this week, the new Universal - Hasbro deal will also see Clue, Ouija, Battleship, Magic, the Gathering and Stretch Armstrong turned into films, with the first movie hitting theaters in either 2010 or 2011. As Hollywood Reporter reports, "... Universal will release at least one film a year after that. Hasbro is co-financing script development with Universal while the toy company also has the option of co-funding production of the films." As HR reports further, Hasbro will (expectedly) retain all merchandising rights to their brands but both companies will share in the revenue derived from products stemming from the movies.

Although the new Universal - Hasbro deal is a savvy movie that will allow Universal to jump into the budding toy/game big screen arena given the recent production of DreamWorks' G.I. Joe and the massive success of Paramount's Transformers, there's no doubt that other studios will soon follow suit. Come to think of it, what ever happened to the Hot Wheels project that was supposed to happen? If you know, drop us line. We'd love an update, especially given the latest news.

As Hollywood Reporter reveals, the details surrounding which property will be the first film are still under debate, it appears some sources suggest it might be either Monopoly or Ouija since Michael Bay and his production company Platinum Dune have already been tapped to produce the spirit-conjuring Ouija while writer David Berenbaum is pegged to take a pass at a first draft. The most interesting news within the report reveals that negotiations are underway with director Ridley Scott to possibly helm Monopoly.

It took years for Hollywood to jump on the comic book bandwagon to truly realize the box-office potential of some of the most popular comic properties and characters of all time. How long did it take for execs to realize that the X-Men could turn a box-office profit when every comic book geek on Earth knew its potential? While the new deal certainly has the potential to give birth to a new and profitable sub-genre, great video game-to-film adaptations have been few and far between. There are a ton of great game brands and older toys to spring from, but let's hope it doesn't get too out-of-hand. Do we really need to see Scrabble: The Movie?

If someone can tap Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen to make a big screen version of "Pass Out", we're there!