A movie adaptation of It Takes Two, the game of the year winner at The 2021 Game Awards, is in the works at Amazon, confirming earlier reporting surrounding the film.
Back in February, we were under the assumption that it could either be a TV show or a movie. Now, as per reporting from Deadline, it looks like It Takes Two will be turned into a movie for Amazon Prime. Dwayne Johnson is set to be one of the producers of the film.
Not to be mistaken for the 1995 rom-com It Takes Two, It Takes Two is a co-op game based around working together to get through intricate levels. It features a story about a marriage turning to divorce and how the mum and dad can come together and work things out. It’s wholesome and a great game to play with a friend, featuring an iconic split-screen view at all times.
According to the report from Variety back in February, Hazelight Studios (the developers of It Takes Two) teamed with dj2 Entertainment to adapt It Takes Two for film and TV. dj2 has a production company that appears to specialise in video game adaptations. Its biggest adaptation to date has been Sonic the Hedgehog at Paramount. It also has deals in place around a Sleeping Dogs film, a TV series based on Disco Elysium and various titles under the Raw Fury indie label. A previously announced TV series based on Dontnod’s Vampyr never came to anything, however.
Back then, we didn’t know what network or streaming services the adaptation would be secured to, but now we know it’s Amazon. dj2 has tapped Sonic the Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller to adapt the game for the screen.
But how on Earth this will work as a movie has us all baffled.
As our friends over at Kotaku had some thoughts (thoughts that were too good not to simply C+P):
Does this strike anyone else as a bit weird? The whole point of It Takes Two was that it was a special cooperative-only experience that turned the complexities of a dying relationship into big, bold, interactive metaphor. Through that interactivity, it brought its players and its characters closer together. It did this so effectively that it won numerous Game of the Year awards only a month ago. Adapting it into a movie turns this story into a passive experience. Doesn’t that carve out the very thing that gave the game its heart and soul?
That’s my gut feeling, anyway. I’d love to be proven wrong. I wish dj2 all the best with the production and I hope the movie rules, I truly do.