Donald Glover Drops Into Netflix’s Live-Action ‘PUBG’ Series
Stephen Glover joins his brother in the writers’ room, with ‘PUBG’ publisher Krafton producing through its entertainment arm.
Summary
Netflix is developing a live-action series based on the battle royale hit 'PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds'
Donald Glover is set to star, write, executive produce and direct, with brother Stephen Glover co-writing and executive producing
The creative team faces an unusual challenge, since the game itself has no storyline to adapt
Netflix is developing a live-action PUBG series with Donald Glover attached to lead. Based on Krafton’s 2017 battle royale PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, the project would put Glover in charge both in front of the camera and behind it, with the multihyphenate also writing, executive producing and planning to direct.
The creative core of the series is a familiar one. Donald will write and executive produce alongside his brother Stephen Glover, reuniting a duo whose partnership defined FX’s Atlanta, which Donald created and starred in while Stephen wrote and executive produced across all four seasons. The pair has since collaborated on Amazon’s Swarm and the musical film Guava Island, and Stephen also wrote for Donald’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith series at Amazon.
The producing lineup brings together film, management and gaming expertise. Michael Schaefer is executive producing for Neon TV, Fam Udeorji is on board for Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee represent LV3H, the entertainment division of Krafton. That last involvement means the studio behind the game will have a direct hand in how it translates to the screen.
The biggest open question is what the show will actually be about. PUBG has no narrative to speak of. Each match drops a large group of players onto one of several maps stocked with weapons, vehicles and gear, and the last player standing wins. Without a built-in story, characters or lore to follow, the writers are working with a premise rather than a plot, and specific story details for the series remain under wraps.
The source material’s reach is not in question. Nearly a decade after release, PUBG remains one of the most-played games in the world, drawing hundreds of thousands of daily active players after setting multiple Guinness World Records at launch.
The project would also add to Netflix’s growing slate of game adaptations. The streamer is developing an Assassin’s Creed series and a live-action Gears of War film, along with animated takes on Clash of Clans and Minecraft, and it already streams Splinter Cell: Deathwatch and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Stay tuned for more info.
