The live-action Life Is Strange adaptation will “disappoint” some gamers, says series co-creator Mike Golderg.
Last year, Amazon Prime Video announced it was working on an adaptation of Life Is Strange. The series will be written by Charlie Covell (Kaos, The End Of The F******g World), who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner. Square Enix, who owns the Life Is Strange IP, will produce the adaptation alongside Margot Robbie’s production company Lucky Chap and Story Kitchen, a company that “specialises in franchise farming”.
The show, like the 2015 action puzzle title, follows Max, a photography student who discovers she can rewind time while saving the life of her childhood best friend, Chloe. “As she struggles to understand this new skill, the pair investigate the mysterious disappearance of a fellow student, uncovering a dark side to their town that will ultimately force them to make an impossible life or death choice that will impact them forever,” reads an official description of the series.
In the original Life Is Strange game, the decision of the player dictates what happens with Max and Chloe but the TV series won’t have the same freedom, with creators needing to choose a “canon” series of events.
“No matter how we skin the cat, we’re going to disappoint people who may have chosen something different,” Mike Goldberg,co-founder and producer of Story Kitchen, said on the In The Lab podcast. “Most games are choice driven [but] Life Is Strange is much more multi-choice in nature, and that’s always the challenge. We’re taking an engaged, lean-forward, interactive experience and now we’re going to go a passive lean-back. How do we make it still rewarding and fresh, because if you’ve already played it, you don’t want to sit back and watch it.”
“Charlie [Covell] made sure to play through the entire Life Is Strange franchise,” he added, with the team working closely with Square Enix on the adaptation. “It’s that level of thought and care, otherwise you shouldn’t do it.”
The first season of Life Is Strange is due to start shooting this month and Goldberg believes more games in the beloved franchise could also be adapted. “Should we be able to earn more seasons, there’s a lot more stories to tell,” he said. “Not just with Chloe and Max but with other elements of Life Is Strange [too].”
In other news, HEALTH and members of Ice Nine Kills and Periphery have contributed to the soundtrack for new role-playing game Crimson Moon.
