EA’s Dead Space Headed to Film

Still months away from its release, Dead Space has landed a animated movie prequel to be produced by the same animation company behind The Simpsons and King of the Hill.

Breaking the usual cycle of video games finding critical success then attracting movie deals, Electronic Arts’ yet-to-be-released sci-fi horror game Dead Space is already destined for film. EA and Starz Media announced on Friday that they will collaborate on an animated prequel based on the game.

The movie will pick up where the comic book series leaves off, but before the game plot picks up, filling the gap between the two. It will focus on the futuristic mining spaceship, the USG Ishimura, which is plagued by an alien presence after pulling a mysterious artifact from a mining site.

Starz Media’s animation unit, Film Roman (famous for its work on The Simpsons and King of the Hill) will handle production of the film. The company hopes to secure a television broadcast for the movie followed by a DVD release.

“Due to the richness and complexity of stories that have evolved for video games, they have become a type of entertainment that can span generations and provide fantastic inspiration for other forms of media; especially in the realm of animated features,” Film Roman president Scott Greenberg said in a statement. “We’re particularly thrilled to be starting off with Dead Space.”

The release of the film is set to coincide with the release of the Dead Space game, which is slated for October 28, 2008.