When news emerged earlier this year that there'd be a Tetris movie, bemusement seemed like a fair reaction. How do you compose a narrative and movie out of this particular iconic game?
Back then producer Larry Kasanoff - whose credits include work on films like True Lies - spoke of the film having a surprise concept. He's reiterated that to Empire magazine but also, somewhat amazingly, confirmed the rumours that it'll be the first in a trilogy of movies. Some of the filming and cast will be based in China, too, which was also previously confirmed.
Some of Kasanoff's remarks to Empire are below.
That's correct [on the film being the first of a trilogy], and purely because the story we conceived is so big. This isn't us splitting the last one of our eight movies in two to wring blood out of the stone. It's just a big story.
We're not going to have blocks with feet running around the movie, but it's great that people think so. It sets the bar rather low!
We want the story to be a surprise, but it's a big science-fiction movie. I came up with the idea as I was thinking about Tetris and the theme of creating order out of chaos.
I guarantee you it's not what you think. No-one has come remotely close to figuring out what we're doing.
It's difficult to figure out how the simplicity of the Tetris brand fits into a broad-scope sci-fi movie, unless it's a Matrix style quest to rebuild the world with oversized pixelated blocks. Who knows, but it'll be intriguing to follow; we weren't sure how one film would work, so confirmation it's part of a trilogy has us rather intrigued.
What epic tale do you want to be told in a Tetris movie? Share your synopsis in the comments below.
[source empireonline.com, via theguardian.com]
Comments (83)
Sounds like it will be a blockbuster.
Whoever thought this movie up must be a Blockhead.
It's going to be a Cube / Maze Runner type thing.
And it will be awful. A level of awful we have never seen before. Not even from Uwe Boll.
Why....
I will assume this is an enormous practical joke until the very end.
If L-shape Tetris isn't the main character then this movie is not worth seeing. L-shape Tetris is legendary for its role in the game.
:/
What if the story was that they could control matter like tetris bricks, and make things with them. Or maybe a quest to gather the pieces to complete an important thing.
You can't wring blood from stone, but apparently you can wring it from Tetriminos.
I uh... have nothing to say that I believe won't be opinions held by many other people to this news...
...I'm just going to come out an say it, this is ridiculous, not 1 but 3 Tetris themed movies??? How? I mean... okay fine, they have some brilliant idea, let me give them the benefit of the doubt for a minute (and trust me, there's a lot of doubt), but I honestly am sick of sequels being announced before the first is proven to be successful. Yes, maybe the idea is too lofty for one film, but announcing later movies before the first one is released... well, then if the movie does bad, it will be left on a cliffhanger for the minority that enjoys it. From a gaming perspective, look at Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: that game had humongous cliffhangers, obviously it was planned to have at least one sequel, but because of the poor sales those of us that want to hear the rest of the story never will! Not that I'm expecting a Tetris movie to do that for me, but this is already a bit of a stretch. Maybe sometimes people shouldn't aim for the stars?
I mean they can release a movie (or book or game) without announcing it is part of a trilogy, and assuming it holds as a standalone story, nobody would be the wiser - then release parts 2 & 3 if part 1 was actually successful. It's definitely been done before, looking so far ahead means you might miss the obstacles right in front of you and never even reach that point...
How accurate is it going to be to the game?
@Jimmy_G_Buckets I actually laughed out loud at that, thank you sir.
I guess they have to make three movies to fit the pieces of the story together easier......
Am I the only one that thought the Mario Bros movie was great? I'll withhold judgment until I see it. It may be the greatest movie based on a game made. Let's keep an open mind people.
"No-one has come remotely close to figuring out what we're doing."
It's not easy peering into the mind of a lunatic.
These people must be smoking something powerful if they think Tetris can even fill one movie,let alone three.
I can understand an Assassins'' Creed movie. A Warcraft movie makes sense. Ratchet and Clank is fine by me. Heck, I can kind of understand the Angry Birds movie, but a Tetris movie? It better flop as hard as humanly possible.
@ap0001
I think we've just found the permanent king of bad Videogame movies. Nothing will ever be able to topple this one from its lofty throne.
Maybe the second one will be Dr. Mario and the third...uh...Bubble Bath Babes.
Crazy. But, they turned Legos into a movie. And now it'll probably be a trilogy. So, it could happen. It's going to need an imaginative, thoughtfully written script and great acting to execute it though. Tickets and DVDs ultimately determine whether you're making a trilogy or a flop.
...sweet..can't wait for the Lego games...
Tetris movie, still sounds awful, i'll wait for a trailer and review.
The only way I could see a Tetris movie working is if it were a mockumentary. Like a parody of King of Kong or something. A big budget Hollywood production is a complete joke and proof studios still don't care about the gaming community. I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to even give this the benefit of the doubt.
@mjharper
Yeah but Legos are a bit different, especially since it from movies and they didn't do a story about the Lego building blocks.
It reminds me of this old trailer. Maybe if they get the Wachoskis' on board we can get something like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA
@mjharper
Only the bored/curious will go to see it and/or mock it.
@brandonbwii
It might be fun if you go with friends and do a Science Mystery Theater 3000 thing. I doubt there will be many people in there to tell you to shush and the witty commentary is bound to be vastly more entertaining then the movie itself. XD
...How the Hell could you even make ONE movie based off of Tetris, let alone a trilogy!?
Huh ? TETRIS on Movie ?
I think it will be so.... Blocky. XD
Nobody can imagine a Tetris trilogy of films. It's absurd. Absurd.
It won't sell.
How the heck are you supposed to make a trilogy out of Tetris. I can barely see a half hour Christmas special with Tetris and Dr. Mario. This will be retarded
Fan Fictions man...they get weird, and I don't like it. That's what this sounds like.
Whatever they're smokin I want some
@PK_Boss11
No you don't, then you'll create mockable horrors like this! Is that what you want?
As I see it, this can go one of two ways:
A: This is the biggest prank in the history of the film industry, and they're hyping it up to pull a massive 'gotcha!' And reveal a comedy instead, or
B: They actually have an amazing idea, but it will hardly have any semblance to the actual game of tetris, and is based more on the philosophy behind it (as he said, 'making order out of chaos').
Time will tell which one it is...
@Philo
Either way it will end up being a massive joke
😂😂😂😂😂😂 I'm laughing so hard! It's going to flop HARD!!!
Let me guess- it's going to involve aliens.
So wait, I'm racking my mind over this so much... so are the Tetris blocks there to aid the 'cast' in someway? Like, they're used to help them through situations/problems? Or are the blocks the enemy? Against other blocks? Are the Tetris blocks anthropomorphic? I'm confused. ;-;
@SpykeKat To be honest, Nobody knows what the heck this could possibly be.
@-DEMISE- Most likely.
Frankly, I'm curious to see what on earth this is going to be. Whatever it is, it will most likely flop.
Only if the trilogy goes like this:
Tetris
Tetris 2
Dr. Mario
So, here's my theory for what could possibly make 3 movies using Tetris. It could be an adventure type movie? At least one of the movies could deal with tetronimos being a part of some ancient civilization or some civilization from space or something and deals with the main characters journeying to discover the meaning behind the symbols and uncovering the civilization? Somethin along the lines of that
@dragonfire535 I still can't help myself and think of the possibilities.
I now want a fourth movie, that, when it ends, retcons the entire franchise out of existence. A line piece that will clear all four films.
Every time that I read the headline for a tetris movie article I think it's an April Fool's Day joke and laugh.
And then I realize it's serious and laugh.
I'm thinking it will be about some kind of ancient or alien rune stones/artifacts that have been disturbed in some way and must be brought back together. Perhaps it will be something along the lines of the triforce from Zelda, but with Tetris pieces.
Is it wrong that I'm more hyped for this Tetris Trilogy than I was for the Warcraft movie? I'm getting nerd chills... My neckbeard is growing faster than it should in anticipation... I want to know more about the Tetris Trilogy than the NX! TELL US WHAT IT'S ABOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT!
"Trilogy"
"So big"
That's like filming an entire season about a rock on the pavement. Just SO MUCH to tell
@Kriven YES! Tetrisphere was one of my favorite incarnations of Tetris! The circle of life, the circle of Tetris.
It will be like TRON.
A strange cube lands on Earth with a puzzle to unlock it, but researchers can't solve it because they have no organizational skills. Then a janitor tries it out while doing the night cleaning, and opens up a whole new world of technology. Spaceships are designed using the Tetris technology, and since the janitor is the best at Tetris, she/he is sent to go where the cube came from.
This is an obvious fake.... OK, sure, someone possibly could have some money being offered for "tetris film"... The creators of this film look at each other all bewildered "put down the bong cheech -woah dude, they said ........YES?!???!!" and clearly having no ideas, they take to the Internet with the news of the supposed "Trilogy" of ...'Tetris'?!
As they read the speculation congrats Internet friends, you just wrote enough content for three Tetris movies.
Mission accomplished.
Well three 5 minute shorts is still a trilogy so...
@Tempestryke Good point, that would be terrible
I get it that movies come in all shapes and sizes but this is ridiculous. I predict another flop like Pixels. They'll never get as far as the subheading "Te3's".
Well guys lets not hate on it just yet. i mean heck these people are treating a movie based on Tetris with more dignity then how the Angry Birds movie or..................Pixels..............Was made. These guys are obviously making this movie not make people go see it for nostalgia, but because they got an idea and are going with it even though they know theirs gonna be hate for it. Besides compared to Jem and the Holograms how bad could this be?...................Seriously Jem and the holograms was god awful
Back then producer Larry Kasanoff - whose credits include work on films like True Lies
don't forget foodfight and the mortal kombat movies
Please...just no.
And... if the first one is a total disaster?
Ah well. Let the Tetronimos fall where they will.
Starring Nicholas Cage.
One more film and they would've had a quadrilogy. For shame.
This trilogy bouta be straight flames and Imma laugh at all of you when you're all blown away.
There's already a Tetris film and it's amazing. Why not just leave it at that?
When people found out Hollywood was making a Facebook movie years ago, they thought it's crazy. People just assumed it's a movie about people posting updates on their Facebook page.
This Tetris movie is using the game's concept as an abstraction to develop into a story. It's not a movie about guys waiting for boxes to fall from the sky.
I see no way this can end well.
@Nintendian Except this is a sci-fi movie, not an origin story based on a true story. In all likelihood, there WILL be guys waiting for blocks to drop from the sky.
I mean...it has potential. Obviously it'll relate little to the source material (because there practically isn't any), but you can work something clever around this. Hey, after the flop that was Pixels, we pretty much can't sink lower anyway
Perhaps it'll be about a person's quest to become the Tetris champion?
I wish this was an April Fools'.
"the story we conceived is so big"

Not as big as the story behind the film's development, I guess.
I seriously hope the movie won't ruin any of my ships.
L-block x square block for life!
Something like Bomberman: Act Zero...
Okay, we'll see what they've come up with.
I don't appreciate the jab at the Harry Potter movies, though. The story of "Deathly Hallows" was so big with so little that could reasonably be cut that they pretty much had to make two movies out of it.
Personally, I would prefer a Yoshi's Cookie $80 million dollar budget blockbuster trilogy starring Adam Sandler as Yoshi, a Green Dinosaur who strives to make cookies for his dinosaur friends when the evil Baby Bowser (Kevin James) demands a order of 500 cookies. Yoshi and friends MUST make enough cookies for Baby Bowser before it is too late.... (coming to a theatre near you)
@Tempestryke It's true that they didn't do a film about it in the same vein as the Lego movie or pay-per-view but they did an animated short of it on YouTube
@Ryu_Niiyama @JosieC84
I think if they did them similar to this video, it could work.
Tetris: The A-block-a-lypse.
Its Game Over!
Clearly they expect this to be a blockbuster with 2 sequels planned. I'm wondering if one will be a war movie, called Tetris Attack.
@TeeJay
It's Raining Blocks. Hallelujah.
It's Raining Blocks. Amen.
XD
My....i can't imagine if a Giant Tetris blocks falling from the sky and smashed on the ground causes apocalypse.
I'm betting that it will basically be a clone of that battleship movie, how the heck do you make a movie out of a simple game?!
@penamiguel92 Watch your mouth.
Box office bomb that turns cult classic and makes most of it's income back through DVD/BluRay sales...
Blocks or not, I hope this movie will be in 3d. Because 3d and fx are exactly what make a good movie great lol
@Tempestryke I'm guessing this movie will also have nothing to do with the game, except in a distant, tangential way.
@SpykeKat They could be like energon cubes
Perhaps it is a parody of Trumps plans to build a great/terrible wall.
@Nintendo1889
I hope not lol
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