Well, this is unexpected: Variety reports that Donald Glover and Netflix will team up on a live-action series based on the shooter battle royale game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” also known as “PUBG.” That’s quite a career pivot for the “Atlanta” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” alum, who isn’t attached to any other future projects beyond his long-gestating Childish Gambino film project “Bando Stone & The New World.”
Why make a series adaptation of “PUBG?” Because video game adaptations are all the rage in Hollywood right now. After the monstrous success of the “Sonic The Hedgehog” and “Super Mario Bros.” movies this decade, not to mention “A Minecraft Movie,” there’s been an onslaught of movies announced based on popular games. This year alone, there’s been “Mortal Kombat II,” “Street Fighter,” and “Resident Evil,” and even more are on the way. Peter Berg’s“Call Of Duty” film and Adam Garland‘s “Elden Ring“ movie may be the buzziest of the bunch, but there’s also “The Legend Of Zelda“ ahead, “A Minecraft Movie Squared,” another “Sonic” sequel and “Angry Birds Movie 3,” as well as a “Helldivers”movie.
And that’s just the TV landscape. Video games are getting adapted into TV shows, too, like the delayed “God Of War” over at Prime Video. Netflix has two more already in development, like their “Assassin’s Creed“ and “Gears Of War“ series, while “Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” and “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” already air on the streamer. In short, this trend isn’t ending anytime soon, and Netflix thinks “PUBG” could be another smash hit.
Still, despite its massive popularity, it’s unclear what exactly Netflix and Glover have in mind for their “PUBG” series. That’s because the game effectively doesn’t have a plot. The match-based battle royale drops players onto massive maps with a variety of weapons, vehicles, and other items, and they face off in a last-man-standing death match. Not exactly a template for a compelling story, is it? But the player numbers are likely what Netflix is looking at with “PUBG.” Despite launching in 2017, the game still has hundreds of thousands of players daily and has set multiple Guinness World Records over the years for its player base. Will those player names translate into viewership numbers for the streamer? We’ll see.
Along with starring, Glover will write and exec produce the series with his brother and longtime collaborator Stephen Glover; Glover will also direct. Other exec producers include Michael Schaeger for Neon TV, Fam Udeorjinment arm of “PUNG” publisher Krafton
Who knows what the Glover Bros. have in mind for “PUBG,” but it’s hard to bet against their success on television. “Atlanta” is one of the best shows of its era, and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” scored high marks with critics. With a global fanbase for “PUBG” already in place, this Glover-Netflix team-up could an easy win for the streamer.
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