After making Barbie into a cinematic juggernaut, Margot Robbie has landed on her next big franchise: A movie adaptation of the wildly popular video game series The Sims.
Unlike with Barbie, Robbie will simply serve as a producer set to be written and directed by Kate Herron, who directed the critically acclaimed first season of Loki. That said, The Sims and Barbie do share an important similarity besides Robbie’s involvement. They both offer a blank canvas to craft a narrative.
Sims is a life simulation computer game where players play as an avatar that has changeable personality traits, skills and relationships, and goes through the mundane tasks of daily life like making dinner and decorating a home. The game is built on characters having goals and aspirations. They may also, depending on the game, build out one’s family.
Meanwhile, another video game adaptation is in the works at Paramount+. Although, this franchise isn’t as well known as The Sims. Michelle Yeoh and Vin Diesel have reportedly signed on to an animated series based on Ark: Survival Evolved. Their involvement rounds out a surprisingly stacked cast that also includes Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Jeffrey Wright and Elliot Page.
According to THR, the animated series is a “sweeping saga spanning eons of human history. When 21st century paleontologist Helena Walker (Madeleine Madden) finds herself resurrected on a mysterious primeval island populated by prehistoric beasts, she must learn to survive with new allies from throughout time, while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world.”
Both projects arrive as Amazon prepares to make a huge splash with its live-action Fallout adaptation starring Walton Goggins. That series starts streaming April 11.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)