Apple will adapt the classic educational game The Oregon Trail in a big-budget movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter (THR).
The film is in early development, it has just been submitted to Apple and approved. Will Speck and Josh Gordon (swords of glory, Christmas party in the office) will direct and produce. Given that pedigree (zany comedies), it's clear that this film won't be a serious historical drama about the struggles of those who traveled the American West.
In fact, the report not only indicates that it will be a comedy, but that it will also be a musical. “The film will feature a couple of original musical numbers along the lines of Barbie“, according to THR sources. EGOT winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will be responsible for the film's original music.
Of course, in a comedy the writers are at least as important as the director. The film will be written by Kenneth and Keith Lucas, but they are recently best known for the 2021 drama. Judas and the Black Messiahfor which they received an Oscar nomination.
That's all we know about the movie so far. As for the game, well, it needs no introduction, especially for people who were old enough to play it at school or at home on personal computers between the 1970s and 1990s.
The game is an important cultural touchstone for a certain generation, to the point that “The Oregon Trail Generation” has long been used as a label for many people born in the early 1980s. The game's morbid content is joked about, such as the infamous line: “You died of dysentery.”
Since Apple greenlit the movie, it's likely to debut on the Apple TV+ streaming service, but we still don't know when it will arrive or who will star in it.