Can Andrew Niccol succeed where Ridley Scott has apparently thrown in the towel? Lionsgate and Hasbro appear to think so, as the studio and the toy company have handed scripting duty on the Monopoly adaptation to the Gattaca man{
Scott had been trying for several years to use the game as a launching point for a fantasy adventure, but to no avail. Script drafts have come and gone. The closest effort appeared to be producer Frank Beddor’s pitch for a Jumanji-style story about someone sucked into the game and forced to battle corrupt money types.
Now, though, Hasbro has taken back the rights to the game and handed them to the Hunger Games company in the hopes that it – and Niccol – can find a workable concept. In their idea, set within the game’s buildings and streets, “a boy from Baltic Avenue (a square on the American version of the game), uses both Chance and Community in a quest to make his fortune, taking him on an adventure-filled journey. It's about making your own luck, what makes you truly rich and avoiding jail time.” Or so says the press release, covered by The Hollywood Reporter.
"Hasbro is a partner with incredible global reach, one of the most compelling brand portfolios in the world, and a signature brand in Monopoly that has multigenerational appeal," says Lionsgate motion picture group co-president Erik Feig. "Andrew Niccol is the ultimate world creator. He is an inspired choice to develop this timeless property into a big, crowd-pleasing event film that will appeal to kids, families and anyone who has ever played the Monopoly game." They’ll need plenty of luck if they’re going to collect at the box office.