Live-Action Pac-Man film in works from Justin Baldoni

Reports state that a live-action film based on the widely successful arcade game Pac-Man is currently in the works. The film is being developed by actor/filmmaker Justin Baldoni for his Wayfarer Studios. Baldoni is known for playing a role in the comedy rom-com series Jane the Virgin, he also directed films like Five Feet Apart and Clouds.

Pac-Man is an arcade game that lets the player control an insatiable yellow ball who has to eat dots while navigating through a maze and is chased by four differently coloured ghosts. Originally released in Japan in 1980, the simplistic yet addictive nature of the game quickly made it a worldwide phenomenon. It received multiple sequels and adaptations throughout the years. Pac-Man was recognised as the most successful coin-operated game machine by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2005.

The franchise received an animated series adaptation in 2013, titled Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Pac-Man was also referenced in films like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Wreck it Ralph, and Mortal Kombat, which similarly originated as an arcade game, also recently received film adaptations of their own. 

Along with Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios, Lightbeam Entertainment is also confirmed to be co-producing the film. How the filmmakers are planning to make a live-action adaptation of a character, which predominantly exists as a yellow ball with eyes and a mouth inhabiting a pixelated world, remains to be seen.