Zombies are the new vampires. Every studio seems to want to get in on the walking dead action, with Lionsgate – the studio behind the upcoming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies film adaptation – at the forefront of the zombie craze. And the studio just confirmed today they’ve obtained the film rights from Deep Silver to make a feature film inspired by the video game, Dead Island, released on September 6, 2011.
The game kicked off its advertising campaign with a teaser trailer back in February that received over 1 million hits during its first 24 hours live. Wired Magazine, College Humor, and G4TV labeled it the best video game trailer of all time, and Lionsgate’s planning to use the trailer as the film’s “primary creative inspiration.”
Announcing the Dead Island acquisition, Lionsgate’s co-COO and Motion Picture Group President Joe Drake. stated, “Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck. This is exactly the type of property we’re looking to adapt at Lionsgate – it’s sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential.”
The Dead Island film’s just in its early development stage. Sean Daniel (The Mummy) and Stefan Sonnenfeld are producing, with Missy Papageorge executive producing.
The Plot of the Dead Island Game:
“The game centers on vacationers whose island paradise becomes a living hell when a zombie outbreak quickly spreads. Cut off from the rest of the world, the survivors have only the available materials and the island’s natural ‘weapons’ to protect themselves from the vicious and growing legions of the undead. In addition to the award-winning trailer and video game, the Dead Island intellectual property will be simultaneously developed by Deep Silver into forthcoming graphic novels, novels and other extensions.”
