20th Century Pictures to adapt popular survival game

20th Century Pictures has confirmed to develop a live-action movie based on the popular survival horror game on the Roblox platform.Josh Cooley will serve as screenwriter, marking the first time the label has moved forward with a feature-length video game adaptation.

20th Century Pictures acquired the rights to a theatrical film adaptation of the game this spring.At that time, the project did not have a main creative candidate. Now that the screenwriter and producer lineup have been determined, the development of the live-action film has officially entered the next step.

When the film studio acquires the rights, the project is not tied to actors, directors or existing scripts.20th Century Pictures subsequently contacted multiple screenwriters and listened to their ideas over the summer, and the plan submitted by Cooley was approved.The report did not reveal which set of characters the movie will use, nor whether it will directly use specific settings from the game.

Cooley comes from the Pixar animation creation system. He once participated in the screenwriting team of "Inside Out" and was nominated for the 2016 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with the team for this film.His film Toy Story 4 won the 2020 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

He most recently directed the fully CG animated film Transformers: Origins.The film's voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key and Jon Hamm.After listening to proposals from multiple screenwriters over the summer, 20th Century Pictures finally chose Cooley's idea.

The original game was developed by New Zealand team Grandma's Favorite Games and was only released in 2025.The gameplay follows a group of players trying to survive 99 nights in a haunted forest while searching for four missing children and fighting against the dangerous creatures of the deep woods.

Alec Kift, Matthew Hufton and Cameron Angland from the development team will serve as executive producers on the film.The survival cycle of the original work, the four children and the hostile creatures in the forest are the core goals of the game currently listed in the report. The movie version has not yet announced the adaptation plan for these contents.

The game has grown rapidly since its launch.According to information provided by 20th Century Pictures, as of this spring, it has become the seventh most played work in Roblox history, with cumulative visits of nearly 26 billion times and a player rating of 90.6%.These data are also the reason why the film studio emphasized the audience base of the project in the announcement.

On the production side, Sam Raimi and long-time collaborator Rob Tapert have joined.Game developers Alec Kift, Matthew Hufton and Cameron Angland will serve as executive producers, with Romel Adam and Jose Canas also listed as executive producers.

The addition of Raimi and Tapert gave the project's production team a head start.In the list announced by the film studio, developers and film producers will participate, and Cooley will be responsible for the script.The announcement did not give a filming location, production budget or release date, with the project still in its early stages of development.

The announcement does not yet reveal a director, cast or filming date.How Cooley will incorporate the game's survival, rescue, and forest monsters into the movie's story has not yet been explained.What can be confirmed at this stage is that 20th Century Pictures has selected the screenwriter, and Raimi and Tapert are participating in the production.

This adaptation brings a Roblox game, which was only launched in 2025 and has seen rapid growth in visits, into the theatrical film development process.The script of the movie version is still being advanced by Cooley. More news about the main creative lineup and project schedule will need to wait for subsequent announcements from 20th Century Pictures.