Paramount set to adapt Monument Valley iOS game into live-action movie

Mobile game sensation Monument Valley launched some 4 years ago now and has been downloaded more than 160 million times. Developer Ustwo Games followed up the critically acclaimed original with a sequel in the summer of 2017 and has since racked up loads of Apple Design Awards, an iPad Game of the Year trophy and a pair of BAFTAs for for Best British Game and Best Mobile & Handheld Game. And now it looks like Paramount Pictures has tapped director Patrick Osborne to bring the game to the big screen.

Osborne, who won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film and is currently in the trenches with Fox’s Nimona project, is said to be creating a live action/CG adaptation of the Escher-like Monument Valley game world.

For those unfamiliar, the Monument Valley games are gorgeous artistic, puzzle experiences that appear to pull inspiration from the work of M. C. Escher. The meditative and emotional mechanics and story elements don’t necessarily seem like the best candidate for a live action film, but according to reports, Osborne will be combining contemporary real-world characters with Monument Valley’s unique environments in some way or another.

The director feels that Monument Valley is a one-of-a-kind experience, that is both simple “as well as enormous in its sense of history,” He continued by saying he feels privileged to be “handed the reins to Ida’s mysterious kingdom, to play in her world of impossible architecture where seeing things differently is everything. I am thrilled to bring this unique world to theaters with the talented storytellers of Paramount and Weed Road.”

Not much else is known about the project at this time. But Ustwo Games games did send out a tweet this morning confirming its validity:

We all know how bad these games-turned-movies can go sometimes. We all remember that last Assassin’s Creed attempt and while the latest Tomb Raider wasn’t entirely a throw away, it certainly didn’t hit the mark most fans were hoping for. 

It’s hard for us to imagine how Monument Valley could get transformed into a serious film, that actually does the game justice, especially with live-action characters. Something is telling me CG is the way to go here, but here’s to hoping I’m entirely wrong and Mr. Osborne makes me eat my words whenever this thing gets released. The amazing atmosphere and artistic direction could make for an absolutely incredible film experience, so hopefully Monument Valley can avoid the dreaded video game movie curse.

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