A movie based on Monopoly has been in the works for years with even Ridley Scott attached at one point to direct an adaptation of the popular board game.
But now it looks like Kevin Hart and director Tim Story will be the ones to pass “Go”. According to Deadline, Hart and Story are in final negotiations to star and direct, respectively, a film based on Monopoly.
Per deadline, a “logline is being kept under wraps for now and a writer and shoot date have not been set. A previous version of the project centered on a young man from the game’s modest Baltic Avenue on a quest to make a fortune.” Presumably, Hart’s character will be someone who’s kind of a wise-ass who talks really loud and people make jokes about his height.
The Oscar hosting saga has been a forgettable episode for Hart in recent weeks but the number one stateside opening last weekend of The Upside was a reminder of his box office bankability. The Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Night School and Central Intelligence actor has become one of the most reliable comedy bets going with cinema-goers.
While Hart and Story had big hits together with Ride Along and Ride Along 2. Both films made over $100 million worldwide, and Hart’s stand-up specials What Now?, Let Me Explain, and Laugh at My Pain have all been hits as well. It makes sense why they would reunite for something with a recognizable brand like Monopoly. Additionally, it would be wise not to write off movies based on board games. Yes, sometimes you get Battleship, but other times you get Clue. The source material isn’t the issue as much as how it’s adapted, and I’m curious to see what kind of premise they’ll have for their Monopoly movie.
Hasbro has been plotting a movie based on its hit board game — which has been played by an estimated one billion people in 114 countries — for at least a decade. The Truman Show scribe Andrew Niccol was attached to write a previous Lionsgate iteration of the project and another development was set up with Emmett/Furla in 2013 with Ridley Scott attached as a producer.
Hart’s HartBeat Productions recently produced comedy Night School and also produces TV series The Next Level and Hart Of The City on Comedy Central, and What The Fit on the Laugh Out Loud Network. Next out for Hart is The Secret Life Of Pets 2, which has a summer release. Next up for Story is New Line’s Shaft, starring Samuel L Jackson, also out this summer.
(Excerpts) Read More at: Collider.com and Deadline.com