A brutally hard co op platformer heads to Hollywood
If you have seen clips of four tiny characters swinging over lava pits while screaming in voice chat, you have probably seen Chained Together. It is a co op platformer where up to four players are literally chained together and try to climb their way out of a nightmare tower full of traps and instant death.
Now that chaotic party game is getting a film adaptation.
According to reporting from Deadline, the Chained Together movie is in development at Anton, the production company behind the 2020 disaster film Greenland. Writers Cory Todd Hughes and Adrian Speckert are attached to the project. They have already been working in the game adaptation space with a film based on the horror game Finding Frankie.
On paper Chained Together seems like a strange pick for a movie. It is not exactly packed with lore. There are no long cutscenes, deep character arcs, or massive codex entries to work from. It is basically about physics, precision jumps, and the joy of dragging your friends down with you when you miss a ledge.
But that might be exactly why it is happening.
Why this game and why now
Over the last few years, Hollywood has gone all in on video game adaptations. It often feels like the only requirement is that something started life on a console or PC. Whether a game actually has a story that suits a movie comes in a distant third place behind brand recognition and fan hype.
Think about it. Minecraft, Outrun, and Rampage are all getting or already have films, even though none of those games are known for deep storytelling. The selling point is the name itself and the built in audience that comes with it.
That strategy has paid off. Big game movies like The Super Mario Bros Movie have pulled in huge numbers at the box office. So studios are understandably hungry for the next recognizable title they can spin into a two hour cinematic ride.
This is where Chained Together comes in. The game exploded on Steam as a friendship destroying co op challenge, regularly drawing massive player counts and a ton of attention on Twitch and YouTube. Its whole gimmick is instantly readable: characters chained together, trying not to drag each other into lava.
In a joint statement about the adaptation, writers Speckert and Hughes said they see endless fun in that premise. What excites them is the collaborative nature of the game and the way players are dependent on each other to survive. That shared dependency, they argue, is a strong base for a movie story.
You can imagine the pitch meeting. Four strangers wake up chained together in a deadly environment, forced to cooperate or die. The emotional beats almost write themselves.
- Struggle to trust each other
- Blame and resentment when things go wrong
- Small wins that build teamwork
- A big finale where they finally move as one
It is not subtle, but it is easy to visualize as a film.
From indie chaos to big screen spectacle
One of the more refreshing parts of this news is that Chained Together is a quirky indie hit, not a decades old mega franchise. Lately most adaptation announcements have centered on legendary brands like The Legend of Zelda or Sonic the Hedgehog. Those deals tend to be cautious, corporate, and very focused on protecting a long running brand image.
An indie game getting the big screen treatment feels a bit different. It is less about sacred canon and more about playing with a fun idea. Chained Together has always been about spectacle. Watching a team barely cling to a ledge while one player flails in the lava below is half the entertainment. Translating that raw chaos into a movie full of near misses, ridiculous stunts, and intense set pieces honestly makes sense.
Of course there is always the risk that the adaptation turns into a generic effects heavy romp. It is easy to picture a version where big name stars like Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart banter their way through a volcano full of computer generated hazards. That would not exactly capture the tight jump and fail loop that makes the game special.
Still, given how tough the game industry can be for small studios, it is hard to begrudge any indie devs for taking a movie deal. If a film based on their chaotic co op platformer brings in more players, more funding, or simply gives them the chance to keep making weird games, that is a huge win.
At the end of the day, Chained Together was always about putting on a show. Twitch clips of desperate last second saves and brutal falls are what pushed it into the spotlight. A movie is just another stage for that same energy, only this time the audience will not need to own a controller to enjoy the spectacle.
Whether you are a fan of the game or just someone who likes watching friendships tested by impossible challenges, this is one adaptation worth keeping an eye on. If Hollywood leans into the teamwork, tension, and sheer absurdity that players already love, Chained Together could end up being one of the more entertaining video game movies in the current wave.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/sure-why-not-the-next-videogame-movie-will-adapt-friendship-ending-indie-chained-together/
