You may wish to buckle up for this one, as a result of it is a doozy. The long-in-the-works Pac-Man film could be in bother as a consequence of director Justin Baldoni’s ongoing authorized battle towards Blake Full of life following accusations of misconduct through the manufacturing of 2024’s field workplace hit It Ends With Us.
The romantic drama was a field workplace hit final yr with $351 million earned in cinemas throughout the globe on a measly $25 million funds. However real-life drama quickly hit the success story, as co-star Blake Full of life accused director and co-lead Justin Baldoni of making and fostering a hostile work surroundings, in addition to sexual harassment. Now, that is affecting the event of Pac-Man’s big-screen debut.
The Hollywood Reporter has launched an in depth article that goes into the whys and hows surrounding each this long-gestating undertaking and Baldoni and Full of life’s ongoing battle. The whole factor is price a learn in the event you’re taken with the entire story, however we have collected the important thing Pac-Man-related factors right here.
“In line with a textual content he despatched his PR crew on Aug. 18, Baldoni steered sharing the information that he would subsequent direct a Pac-Man film, one thing he hoped would assist him transfer in the direction of the long run,” THR states. We knew he and his Wayfarer Studios had been connected to the undertaking since 2022, but it was unclear whether or not he’d direct the film himself. “It’s amongst no less than a trio of initiatives that are actually doubtful as friction with Full of life turned from web curiosity right into a full-fledged authorized struggle.”
Bandai Namco, the rights proprietor, is but to reply to a request for remark from THR. We additionally know that Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop) was writing a script, although its present standing is unclear. Following the discharge of the online game anthology collection Secret Stage on Prime Video (now renewed for a second season) final yr and the inclusion of a horror-adjacent Pac-Man brief, we have now to surprise if the pitch for the film was shifting alongside these traces too. In early December, we additionally acquired the sudden announcement of a mature Metroidvania reinvention of the IP referred to as Shadow Labyrinth straight influenced by the brief.
“No new initiatives have materialized for Wayfarer amid the Full of life battle, although the corporate is alleged to be taken with pursuing a brand new deal of some kind, as a present of excellent religion that folks would nonetheless love to do enterprise with them,” concludes the THR piece. For now, let’s take into account the Pac-Man film frozen however holding on for expensive life, with or with out Baldoni.
