It seems one of the oldest video game characters will be heading back to the big screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bandai Namco Entertainment has teamed up with Wayfarer Studios to produce a live-action film based on Pac-Man. Yes, you read that correctly, a live-action film.
The film will be based on a concept from Chuck Williams, former Disney animator and associate producer on 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Williams is the founder of Lightbeam Entertainment, one of the production companies behind Sonic the Hedgehog, who worked to develop that film with Sega. Justin Baldoni, Manu Gargi, and Andrew Calof from Wayfarer Studios will produce the film, while Tim Kwok will produce on the Lightbeam side.
This isn’t the first, second, or third time Pac-Man has appeared on the big screen. Given his place in gaming history, he’s one of the most famous gaming characters ever. He’s appeared in the 2015 live-action film Pixels and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. There have been two Pac-Man cartoons on television, including a CG one back in 2013. Pac-Man was even a villain in a Kamen Rider film back in 2016! (Yeah, it was pretty weird.)
While Chuck Williams might have a great concept for the film, Bandai Namco Entertainment and Wayfarer Studios should obviously listen to my film ideas for a live-action Pac-Man. While Chuck Williams has credits on a number of Disney productions and other Hollywood films, I have written exactly zero produced scripts. Let’s lean on that exact lack of expertise to produce a Pac-Man film no one is expecting.
The Haunting of Pac-Mansion
Young Todd Packman has inherited a house from his long-estranged uncle, who died in the home under mysterious circumstances. Down on his luck, Packman moves into the mansion, only to come under attack from hidden spirits that inhabit the property. Now he needs to dive into the family history to access a secret power: a drug that will let him consume the spirits that stand in his way. If he can survive long enough.
Pac-Man vs Ms. Pac-Man
Aged executive John Packman thought everything was going his way. A great job, a beautiful home, and a wonderful wife and son. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t realize that his wife has finally had enough of the long nights hunting ghosts. She’s filing for divorce and taking Junior with her. In this legal drama, we’ll see the fallout from two people who were once in love as they deal with the heartbreak and pain of their current reality.
The Pac-Man
Midway City has always been Hell, literally. A vicious gang known as the Ghosts roam the streets of Midway, causing pain and strife for the good citizens. There is hope, however. A vigilante roams the night, dealing harsh vengeance to all who would do crimes within the city limits. By day, he is billionaire industrialist Toru Iwatani, but by night he is… The Pac-Man.
Pac-Man or (The Unexpected Virtue of Power Pellets)
Ted Pakmen has spent his life in the limelight, starring in several films as the hero Pac-Man. In his twilight years, he struggles to find a new place for himself in entertainment industry. Now Ted is trying to keep it together while he produces the Broadway adaptation of his favorite novella, “The Power Pellets of Positive Thinking.” How many layers of reality sit in-between Pakmen and his onscreen persona, Pac-Man?
The Maze Madness
A young man wakes up in a maze, alongside others like him. According to the others, Peck is only the latest person to be dropped in the maze. They’ve explored it for a long time, but leaving one side of the maze merely puts you back on the opposite end. And at the center lies the true horror: the spawning point of fiendish, relentless creatures called Ghosts, who will stop at nothing to get Peck and the rest. Can he navigate the maze and survive until Phase Two?
Edge of 256
In this science fiction film, Major Pack Mann is a member of the Maze Defense Force, a military organization tasked with keeping the mysterious alien “Ghosts” inside the Maze, a vertical massive structure that sits where the city of Chicago once stood. In one skirmish with a Ghost, Mann dies, only to find he has the power to repeat the day once again. Now with the best soldier in the Maze, Sergeant Patricia “The Miss” Ma, on his side he must find out how his new power works. He’ll have die, return to life, and die again to tackle all 255 levels of the Maze and see if the mythical 256th level will mark the end of this war.
Bandai Namco Entertainment and Wayfarer Studios, call me and any and all of these ideas can be yours for a cool million dollars. I’m also open tobeing retained as a creative consultant for future video game adaptations.
