Netflix and Donald Glover Officially Team Up for New Video Game Series
Glover’s PUBG Role
Donald Glover will take on several roles in the series: he is set to star and direct, as well as co-write and co-executive produce. His brother and longtime creative partner, Stephen Glover, will share the writing and co-executive producing duties.
Glover is known for work on Community, Atlanta and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The series is now in development, but Netflix has not announced when it will be released.
A Battle Royale Hit
PUBG, short for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, launched in 2017 and helped popularize the battle royale genre alongside Fortnite. The game remains a popular alternative to Fortnite, with a dedicated player base.
Players form teams of one to four and enter a large map to search for weapons and gear. They compete until one team remains, in a format compared in the article to The Hunger Games.
Netflix’s Gaming Plans
Netflix has already brought video games to television with shows including Castlevania, Arcane and Devil May Cry. The streamer also has adaptations of Assassin’s Creed and Gears of War planned.
The announcement comes as video game adaptations have become more prominent. The article points to recent Super Mario films as billion-dollar hits and notes that television can give game stories more room than feature films.
Key points
- Netflix is developing a live-action series based on PUBG.
- Donald Glover is set to star, direct, co-write and co-executive produce.
- Stephen Glover will co-write and co-executive produce with his brother.
- Netflix has not announced a release date.