The adaptation will be provided by the young branch Annapurna Animation, to whom we owe the recent (and charming) Nimona. Studio head Robert L. Baird describes the project as “the first and greatest hopepunk movie ever made. Hopepunk is not yet another improvised portmanteau overusing the “-punk” suffix: it is a true literary concept stated in 2017 by the author of fantasy Alexandra Rowland, imagined in reaction to the aesthetics grimdark dystopico-nihilists that tend to invade our culture. Concretely, the hopepunk current values optimism as resistance in futuristic universes, where community life and mutual aid predominate over selfishness and individualism.
Selling point: “meow”
Well, despite everything, stray remains focused on the adventure of its feline protagonist. Asked by Entertainment Weekly, Robert L. Baird concedes that “the game is incredibly popular because you see the world from the perspective of an adorable cat. How did they pull this off and how are we going to translate it to the screen? We will succeed, although it sometimes seems impossible to us. But we know that’s the essence of the game and the key to telling its story.“And why choose stray especially in the Annapurna catalog? “Because he’s super popular“, according to the co-director of Annapurna Animation, Andrew Millstein.
As for the rest of Annapurna Animation’s fledgling catalog, Nick Bruno (Nimona) is already working on his next film, while Chris Wedge, creator of The Ice Agecurrently working on FOOwhich will follow “the very first fish to ever be taken out of the water“. The experience will prove to be moderately pleasant for the poiscaille, which will do everything to return to its native ocean despite the rules of evolution.
No director has yet been hired to frame stray. Annapurna Animation recognizes half-word that this project is only the first of a future series of adaptations, if all goes well, just to grow their rich video game catalog. Conversely, the Annapurna Interactive branch is preparing Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, their first in-house developed game, which will follow an enigmatic blade runner technically unemployed in charge of carrying out the investigation in a series of old memorial banks.