Sydney Sweeney is set to star in a film adaptation of hit video game “Split Fiction” with Jon M. Chu directing, Variety has learned. The script for the movie is being written by “Deadpool & Wolverine” screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
The “Split Fiction” film will be produced by Mike Goldberg and Dmitri M. Johnson’s Story Kitchen (formerly dj2 Entertainment), which is taking out the talent package now to studios, and Chu’s Electric Somewhere. Sweeney is set to executive produce.
From developer Hazelight Studios and publisher Electronic Arts, “Split Fiction” blends fantasy and science fiction, following a pair of authors, Mio and Zoe, who become trapped in the worlds they wrote. Written by director and Hazelight studio chief Josef Fares and Sebastian Johansson, “Split Fiction” is a co-op adventure game that features gameplay mechanics involving split-screen combat, platforming challenges and differing abilities for each character.
Sources tell Variety it has yet to be decided which lead role Sweeney will be playing: Zoe or Mio.
Released March 6, the game quickly became a hit with players and critics alike, receiving positive reviews and massive sales. According to Hazelight, the game sold more than two million copies in the first week following its launch, and that number continues to rise at a rapid clip.
Variety first reported the “Split Fiction” film was in the works, and attracting top Hollywood studios for a bidding war, during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco in March.
The package is shepherded by Goldberg and Johnson’s Story Kitchen, which is one of the hottest players in the video game-to-screen biz right now, with credits including the “Sonic the Hedgehog” films, the “Tomb Raider” franchise (with a new animated series that premiered on Netflix in October 2024), the upcoming “Streets of Rage” adaptation setup at Lionsgate, as well as films based on “It Takes Two” (from the game studio behind “Split Fiction”) and “ToeJam & Earl” at Amazon MGM Studios.
From Variety US