‘Stray’ Video Game Adaptation in the Works

in Movie

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‘Stray’ video game. Photo: BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna Interactive.

Anything dogs can do; cats can do better? Well, at least differently. With this summer’s canine comedy ‘Strays’ already out in the world (and sadly not feeling the love from cinematic audiences, as it has only earned $21 million domestically at the box office), the feline side of things has its own showcase in the works.

‘Stray’ (no extra “s” this time) will adapt the hugely successful 2022 games titles from BlueTwelve Studio, which will focus on a kitty with a mission.

What’s the story of ‘Stray’?

‘Stray’ video game. Photo: BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna Interactive.

The original game takes place in a futuristic walled city, which the feline protagonist finds itself trapped in. With the help of an intelligent drone, B-12, the cat must find its way out of the city, which has apparently been abandoned by humans, but is occupied by machines, deadly Sentinel security drones, and the hostile Zurks, gigantic, mutated bacteria.

And it probably won’t surprise you to learn that the adaptation is coming from Annapurna Animation, especially since corporate sibling Annapurna Interactive published the original game.

Nick Bruno, who directed the wonderful ‘Nimona’, which ended up at Annapurna after it was originally developed at Fox’s BlueSky Studios, is on board to make it.

Here’s what Annapurna Animation co-chief Robert Baird had to say to Entertainment Weekly about the potential film:

”This is a game that’s all about what makes us human, and there are no humans in it. It’s a buddy comedy about a cat and a robot, and there’s such a hilarious dynamic. So, there’s comedy inherent in this, but there’s not one human being in this movie. I think it’s one of the reasons why the game was incredibly popular, that you are seeing the world through the point of view of an adorable cat. How did they pull that off, and how are we going to pull that off in the movie? We will, even though sometimes it feels impossible, but we know that’s the essence of the game and the key to telling the story.”

And his partner, Andrew Millstein had this to say about why this particular game was picked first from Annapurna Interactive’s roster:

“First off, it is just wildly popular. People engage in the game for a variety of reasons, and I think for us at Annapurna, working with different creative people, it’s a puzzle. What is it about this game that is so popular? Then the question is, how do you adapt a game into longform storytelling that is incredibly respectful to the game itself and the audiences, but then also is film worthy? The process of that is always part of the challenge.”

’Ice Age’ director Chris Wedge’s next film?

Talking of veterans of Blue Sky, Annapurna is also the home for the new movie from Chris Wedge, the creator of the wildly popular ‘Ice Age’ franchise.

His new film is called ‘FOO’ and Baird shared more details about it:

“It’s a not-perfect acronym for ‘fish out of water,’ and that’s what the story is about. It’s about the first fish ever to climb out of the water and onto land. What you learn in this movie is that was the last thing in the world that that fish wanted to do. It’s about his hilarious struggle to get back into the water, but to get back will require a lot of effort and a lot of change on this fish’s part. That was the pitch that came out of Wedge’s brain that we just loved.”