Netflix is developing PUBG, a live-action series adaptation of Krafton’s bestselling battle royale game. Emmy winner Donald Glover will direct and star in the adaptation, which he is writing and executive producing with his brother Stephen Glover.
Also executive producing are Michael Schaefer for Neon TV, Fam Udeorji for Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee for Krafton’s LV3H.
PUBG came together after lengthy negotiations, with Netflix bringing in Donald Glover to the project.
The Community and Atlanta alum in 2021 left his longtime home at FX for a big exclusive overall deal at Amazon MGM Studios. The pact has since been renewed as first-look, allowing Glover to work with other studios. He remains an executive producer on Amazon’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith and is rumored to reprise his role as the eponymous Mr. Smith in the upcoming second season, likely in a limited capacity.
Since its 2017 debut, PUBG (originally titled PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) has set seven Guinness World Records. Korean video game publisher Krafton in 2020 announced plans for a PUBG movie and TV series. The company’s entertainment entity LV3H is involved in the development and production of projects under the PUBG franchise’s expansion into original entertainment content. An animated series from Castlevania executive producer Adi Shankar, announced in 2021, was previously in development at Netflix.
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Donald and Stephen Glover collaborated on FX’s Atlanta, created by and starring Donald Glover. Both served as writers and executive producers, with Donald also directing. Donald Glover won two Emmys, one for acting and one for directing on the comedy series.
PUBG joins Netflix’s slate of video game adaptations in the works, including a live-action Assassin’s Creed series, a live-action Gears of War film; animated series adaptations based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering and Clash of Clans, and an Overcooked competition series.
Neon’s involvement in the series comes through Chief Content Officer Schaefer who joined the studio following Department M’s stake acquisition. Neon has won two Best Picture Oscars, for Sean Baker’s Anora and Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. In May, the studio extended its streak to seven consecutive Palme d’Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival with Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord. Neon is currently in post on its fourth Osgood Perkins film, The Young People, and has lined up for release Fjord, James Grey’s Paper Tiger, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of A Sudden, Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, Chloe Domont’s A Place in Hell, and Bong Joon Ho’s Ally.
