The Ratchet and Clank franchise has been going strong in the video game world since the first game’s release in 2002, selling over 26 million copies worldwide and spawning a whole host of sequels and spin-offs. Naturally Hollywood has come knocking looking for a piece of that lucrative pie, but unlike other adaptation announcements, this one may actually have a ton of potential.
Variety reports that Blockade Entertainment and Rainmaker Entertainment (the company behind Escape from Planet Earth) are teaming up to bring Ratchet and Clank to the big screen as a 3D-animated film. For those of you not into the series, the overall arc of the story follows Ratchet (a last of his kind “lombax”) and Crank (his robot buddy) as they try to stop the dastardly Chairman Drek from wrecking havoc on the Sonoma Galaxy in order to create a new planet for his own kind. They are occasionally joined by Captain Qwark, a cowardly superhero who’s in it for the fame and glory, and is not above siding with the enemy when his own neck is on the line. The plotline of the movie version will be more an “origin story” that will appeal to both hardcore fans as well as newcomers to the franchise.
Those of you Ratchet and Clank fans ready to cry foul at Hollywood co-opting another video game property into perpetual ruin, you can rejoice as script duties are being handled by TJ Fixman a senior writer for Insomniac Games (the guys behind the actual Ratchet and Clank games). Although the movie will be more an origin story in an effort to lure in non-hardcore fans to the multiplexes, the franchise’s signature humor and dialogue should remain in-tact. And on top of that, the voices behind the characters will reprise their roles for the big-screen adaptation so those of you potentially worried about Brad Pitt or someone taking over as Ratchet can rest easy. Still not convinced? Check out the official announcement trailer below for a taste of what to expect.
I can’t say that I’m a fan of the Ratchet and Clank series, but I love the heck out of that announcement trailer and it already appears like it’ll be far better than most of the children-oriented animated films we get nowadays (Captain Qwark especially had me rolling). So not only does that trailer get my goodwill but the fact that the people behind the series are heavily involved in the movie proves to me that this isn’t some hackjob desperately trying to cash in on a franchise with a built-in fanbase; Ratchet and Clank seems to be in very capable hands and that’s exciting for both fans of the franchise and for those of us desperately waiting for a good video game movie to shut the “ALL VIDEO GAME MOVIES ARE TERRIBLE!” critics up.
Ratchet and Clank, directed by Jericca Cleland, is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2015 so be ready for so much more about it on this very site until then.
Any thoughts on this announcement/the teaser? Will Ratchet and Clank transcend the “all video game movies are terrible” stereotype?