Summary
The ongoing legal issues between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in the aftermath ofIt Ends With Ushave been the talk of the entertainment industry in recent months. Speculation raging about who is at fault and what impact it might have on both of their careers moving forward.
Regardless of their ongoing dispute, Baldoni continued to move forward with his career. A text sent to his PR team on August 18 suggested that he was doing to direct a live-actionPac-Manmovie, bringing the popular video game franchise to the big screen in a move he hoped would allow him to “move towards the future.”
However, the issues between Baldoni and Lively might haveput thePac-Manprojectin doubt.The Hollywood Reporterhas reported that the movie that Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios have been developing since 2022 may no longer be part of his long-term plans. That’s because it’s one of a trio of projects that is in doubt as sources close to Baldoni have revealed that he has “lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars” in the middle of this ongoing legal battle. Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios were dropped by WME, which is something the studios had relied on to help package projects together.
Lively filed a complaint in December accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set ofIt Ends With Us, and a smear campaign followed. At this moment, the details about the other two Baldoni-related projects that have potentially been dropped are unclear, while Bandai Namco, thevideo game company behindPac-Man, hasn’t commented on the situation. The rest of the details are unclear at this stage, but it’s clear that this movie is one being put on hold until Baldoni’s circumstances are solved.
There is very little known about the plannedPac-Manmovie at this stage outside of Baldoni’s involvement. Still, considering the popularity of theiconic video game franchise, there would no doubt have been plenty of interest in the project. Of course, there is still a chance that this movie sees the light of day, whether that has Baldoni involved or someone else. If the story is strong enough, it will no doubt resurface as movies related to huge intellectual properties, such asPac-Man, always have the chance to perform well.
Fans of the video game franchise got to seePac-Manon the big screen in the 2015 movie Pixels, while the titular character was also shown in Disney’sWreck-It Ralph. However, a dedicated live-action movie is something that hasn’t happened yet despite the popularity surroundingPac-Manas a character from a global perspective. Even though video game movies don’t always translate well, the recentSonic the Hedgehogtrilogyhas proven that if the tone is struck perfectly, a video game film can end up being a huge hit. That’s why there is going to remain an interest in the possibility of thePac-Manmovie taking place now that audiences are aware that it was in the developmental process.
