Universal Buys Movie Rights To Asteroids

Motion picture studio Universal has picked up the rights to produce a film based on the vintage Atari game Asteroids, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Already attached to the project are script writer Matthew Lopez and GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

This is just the latest in a series of truly bizarre license acquisitions by Universal, which currently has Alien and Gladiator director Ridley Scott working on a movie adaptation of the classic board game Monopoly. The studio also has numerous films in the works based on other Hasbro properties like Stretch Armstrong, Ouija, and Candyland.

When the only story there is to work with is a lonely triangle up against an thousands of pixelated space rocks, you can probably imagine that forging a summer blockbuster out of Asteroids won't be the easiest task in the world. At least Universal won't have to worry about upsetting fans by straying too far from -- or sticking too close to -- the game's original plot.