Atari Universal deal lines up 10 classic games for movies
Universal gets a first look at 10 Atari titles, with an original Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe script kicking off the movie push.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
The Atari Universal deal is putting some of gaming’s oldest screen icons on a fresh course for theaters. Atari has teamed with Entertainment 360 on an arrangement that gives Universal Pictures a first look at developing 10 classic Atari properties as feature films, according to Deadline.
Universal has already bought the first project under the partnership, Deadline reported. That film is based on Atari intellectual property and comes from an original screenplay by Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe, who will also produce.
Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady is set to produce the first movie as well. The broader plan, according to Deadline, is to build large-scale action-adventure films from the Atari catalog.
What Atari games are in the Universal deal?
The 10 Atari properties named in the deal are Asteroids, Adventure, Berzerk, Breakout, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong and Yars’ Revenge, Deadline reported.
A first-look deal means a studio gets the initial chance to consider projects from the covered material before they are taken elsewhere. In this case, Universal has first crack at developing movies from those 10 Atari titles.
Atari chairman and CEO Wade Rosen confirmed the deal to Deadline, saying the company’s games and worlds have stayed in pop culture for more than five decades after their original release. Rosen said Atari is “excited” to work with Universal and Entertainment 360 to bring the brand and its games into a new medium.
Who is writing the first Atari movie?
The first project grew out of a spec script by Reilly and Hampe, according to Deadline. Reilly is a longtime former Universal executive who moved into screenwriting and producing, while Hampe’s script work includes the Hellboy and Jungle Cruise franchises.
Casady told Deadline that he and Reilly grew up playing Atari 2600 games and remained fans. He said Atari’s best games placed players in a world and left room for imagination, and that Hampe and Reilly saw a way to turn that spirit into a large adventure film.
Entertainment 360, best known as a management and production company, is now positioned as the producing partner helping translate the vintage game library for the big screen. The report did not identify which of the 10 properties is the basis for the first script Universal bought.
The deal lands during a busy period for Hollywood’s game-to-screen pipeline, though no release date, director, cast or production start was announced for the first Atari movie.
Deadline reported that Atari is represented by IAG and Vanderkloot Law. Universal did not comment.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.