Taking on the WRECK-IT RALPH route, Sony Pictures have confirmed that PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Frogger, Q*bert, Space Invaders and Centipede have joined the cast of their upcoming action-comedy PIXELS. Set to star Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, and Brian Cox, it’s directed by Chris Columbus and released in the UK on May 27th, 2015.
In PIXELS, when intergalactic aliens misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war against them, they attack the Earth, using the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper (James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), now a home theatre installer, to lead a team of old-school arcaders (Dinklage and Gad) to defeat the aliens and save the planet, with Monaghan playing the team’s unique weapons specialist.
The action-comedy sees the return of Chris Columbus in the directors chair from a story by Tim Herlihy and a screenplay by Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, based on the original short film of the same name by Patrick Jean – Watch that short by clicking here! We’re not entirely sure what form the final flick will take, but if that short is anything to go by, then it surely has to be a mix of animation and live-action. Here’s who’s getting in on the action:
Atari® Interactive: (Asteroids®, Breakout®, Centipede® and Missile Command®)
Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Frogger)
BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc. (PAC-MAN, Galaga, and Dig Dug)
Nintendo (Donkey Kong)
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (Q*bert)
Taito Corporation (Space Invaders)
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (Joust, Defender, Robotron and Wizard of Wor)
Also, if you’re off to the San Diego Comic-Con, from July 24th-27th, arcaders 13 years of age and older with Comic-Con badges will have the chance to engage with many of these classic original arcade games and try them out again as the studio features a Pixels Electric Dreams Factory arcade at the Hard Rock Hotel, 209 5th Ave., San Diego.
The film is produced by Adam Sandler, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, and Allen Covert. We’ll bring you all the latest as we hear it for PIXELS!
