It worked for Sonic! The OG video game mascot is getting the live-action treatment, as Pac-Man is in development as feature film. The project hails from Bandai Namco Entertainment, the company that holds the rights to the video game franchise, and Wayfarer Studios. Wayfarer recently gained a $125 million investment from one of the company’s founders, Steve Sarowitz, for further growth. Sarowitz’s partner at Wayfarer is Justin Baldoni. Wayfarer was behind the Disney+ short Clouds.
The Pac-Man movie will be based on an idea by Chuck Williams of Lightbeam Entertainment, who served as an associate producer on Sonic the Hedgehog.
The Game of Pac-Man
The original Pac-Man arcade game was first released in 1980. In its native Japan, it is called Puck Man, presumably because the round character looks like a hockey puck. It was changed in America to avoid predictable vandalism to the cabinets. (Think about it.)
The gameplay involves the player guiding Pac-man through a maze to gobble up all the dots while avoiding the killer ghosts attempting to stop him. On each screen are four “power pellets” that allow Pac-man to turn the tide and eat the ghosts for a limited time.
Pac-Man was a sensation at arcades as video games were exploding in popularity with the general public. In 1982, Pac-Man reached even greater ubiquity when the game was adapted for the Atari 2600. It even came bundled with the console, delivering the little yellow gobbler to thousands of households.
1982 also saw the release of the first Pac-Man spinoff, Ms. Pac-Man, which took Pac-Man and stuck a pink bow on his head to create a new feminized character. (One of the male ghosts was also swapped out for a female.) Over the years, dozens of other sequels and spinoffs were released as both arcade games and on various consoles.
Pac-Man spawned a slew of merchandise. In fact, in 1982, Namco reportedly had 95-105 licensees slinging products based on the character. That same year, ABC debuted a Saturday morning cartoon. The show starred Pac-Man, his wife Ms. Pac-Man (Pepper), their child Pac-Baby, and the powerful Super-Pac. It was the highest-rated Saturday morning show of that season. A new cartoon, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, aired in 2013 on Disney XD.
It’s unclear whether this new Pac-Man movie will be completely animated or a mixture of animation and live-action like Sonic. Check back for updates as they arrive.
