The Life is Strange blog on Tumblr reports that developer Dontnod Entertainment and publisher Square Enix have reached a deal with Legendary Digital Studios and dj2 Entertainment to bring the popular episodic graphic adventure to life in a new live-action digital series. Unfortunately, there are no other details to share save for the initial announcement.
“Much like many of you, both Legendary and we here at Square Enix & Dontnod agree that Life Is Strange lends itself perfectly to live-action imaginings,” the blog states. “While we can’t wait to see what Legendary will do with the digital series, we don’t have any further details to share at this point in time.”
If you have no idea what Life is Strange is all about, it’s a third-person graphic adventure game spread out across five episodes, the first of which is now free to download and play on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Steam (Windows/Linux/Mac). The protagonist is photography senior Maxine “Max” Caulfield who saves her childhood friend Chloe Price from a bloody death by discovering how to reverse time whenever she pleases.
“The pair soon find themselves exposed to the darker side of Arcadia Bay as they uncover the disturbing truth behind the sudden disappearance of a fellow student,” reads the game’s description. “Meanwhile, Max begins to have premonitions as she struggles to understand the implications of her power. She must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.”
This newly discovered talent means whatever actions the player makes will determine the game’s ultimate ending. Quite a bit of puzzle-solving is involved, requiring users to go back into time to make changes to the environment, and perform “fetch” quests for objects that are unobtainable in the present.
The game was brought to the attention of Cory Lanier at Legendary, who will take charge of the project along with Greg Siegel, senior vice president of development and production for Legendary Digital Studios. Siegel told The Hollywood Reporter that the game appealed to Legendary executives because of the female lead and the game’s focus on characters, leading to an emotional connection to the story. Right now they’re still hunting down a director and writers.
“Life is Strange is one of those rare properties that combines incredibly developed characters and storylines with deeply engaging gameplay,” said Siegel in a press release. “It lends itself perfectly to live-action imaginings. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Square Enix, Dontdod Entertainment and dj2 to bring the world of Arcadia Bay to life in an exciting new way.”
Legendary Digital Studios recently released Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, a reboot of the classic Saturday morning TV show from Sid and Marty Kroft that aired in the 1970s. Additionally, dj2 Entertainment recently produced the upcoming film Sonic the Hedgehog for Sony Pictures, which will mix animation with live-action footage when it hits theaters in 2018.
To celebrate the news of a live-action series, Square Enix is currently pointing to a recent trailer showing “Max and Chloe in action,” as shown at the beginning of this report. So far the game has earned numerous awards such as the BAFTA for Best Story, the Peabody Award, and the Golden Joystick’s Performance of the Year award.
