Videogame adaptations are - if Warcraft and Assassin's Creed do well - going to be the next comic-book films.
Already, Marvel is starting to reach the tail-end of its available characters and DC Comics' future is uncertain with the disappointing returns for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Videogame adaptations, on the other hand, are still fresh territory for movie studios and operate in a similar manner to comic-books.
They've got a fervent fanbase, most people are reasonably familiar with the characters and they can be easily adapted for the big screen with the right directors, writers and actors behind them. Pokemon, easily one of the most recognisable gaming franchises of the past twenty years, is now currently in the middle of a fierce bidding war between Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. and Sony.
What makes this all the more interesting is that the rights, if bought by whichever party, will cost them an exceptionally huge sum of money. What's even MORE interesting is how all this relates to geopolitics.
Yes, really.
Legendary, which is believed to be the favourite to snag the movie rights to Pokemon, is part of Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese real-estate group and the world's largest cinema chain operator. Pokemon, on the other hand, is a Japanese brand and is hugely intrinsic in Japanese culture. So what, you're probably asking?
Tensions between China and Japan are pretty damn high at the moment for any number of reasons, so seeing one of the titans of Japanese pop culture being carted off by a Chinese-backed film company isn't going to sit well with anyone. Whether Legendary wins out in the bidding or not is anybody's guess, but it does present a side of the deal that may cause it to go to Warner Bros. or Sony.
Either way, we can expect a Pokemon film on our screens in the next few years.
Via THR
