OK, we get it: Universal has a deal to make Hasbro board game movies. Candyland (Kevin Lima directing, Etan Cohen writing), Monopoly (Ridley Scott producing, maybe directing?), Stretch Armstrong (not a board game, but written by Steve Oedekerk) and the Platinum Dunes Ouija Board thingamabob. Fine, it’s like a transparent queue for paychecks. Better than a soup line.
Now Gore Verbinski has been roped into directing Clue. What’s the chance that lightning can strike twice? If the interweb had existed in this form in 1984/5, there would have been no limit to the eye-rolling and tongue-clucking reactions to Jonathan Lynn’s movie which, against all odds, was actually a lot of fun. To assemble a cast rivaling that movie’s comedic lineup you’d have to go younger, which cuts out a bit of fun, and there’s just no replacement for Colleen Camp.
Film doesn’t have a writer at the moment, so it could take any form; the mystery and character elimination formula is certainly easy enough to play with. I honestly don’t know where this stands in relation to Verbinski’s BioShock adaptation, also at Universal. Variety says that’s his next project, while THR argues that the animated Rango is his next directorial effort.