‘Just Dance’ Is The Next Movie Adaptation To Try To Break The Video Game Curse
Just Danceis becoming a movie. You heard that right: the Ubisoft dancing game first released in 2009 will be getting a movie adaptation from Screen Gems. Maybe this will be the one to break the video game adaptation curse.Deadlinereports that Screen Gems has acquired the motion-picture rights toJust Dancefollowing a competitive bidding situation with multiple studios. The studio is set to develop a movie adaptation of the bestselling video game that got 120 million video game players off their couches to work up a sweat worldwide.
ThoughJust Danceseems like a video game from a bygone era of rhythm games (Dance Dance Revolution,you’re still missed), the wildly popular Ubisoft game is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year and still going strong. A 2019 edition was recently released with hit tracks from Western and K-pop artists alike, including Bruno Mars, BIGBANG, BLACKPINK, Sean Paul, Drake, J Balvin, Camila Cabello, Daddy Yankee.
But while the video games are enjoying worldwide popularity, what does that mean for the movie? Well the lack of a narrative bodes well for thisJust Dancemovie — prior video game adaptations have been felled by convoluted stories and slavish devotion to the video game concept. The whole concept ofJust Danceis…just dancing to current top 40 hits. I could see this becoming a dance crew movie that launches an entire franchise — though it may be redundant with theStep Upseries still raking in millions
For now Ubisoft Film and Television and Will Gluck’s (the director behindEasy A, Friends With Benefits,and most recentlyPeter Rabbit)Olive Bridge Entertainment are set to develop the planned adaptation. No producers, directors, or writers have yet been mentioned to be attached to the project, though now that Screen Gems has acquired the rights, we can probably expect those announcements soon.
