From Westerns to Buddy cops to CBMs, Hollywood has witnessed a specific type of movies garnering a stranglehold at the box office before audiences eventually get worn out by them. And with CBMs seemingly losing the kind of dominance they had in the past decade, it appears major studios are eyeing to make toy-based movies the next big thing.
Following Margot Robbie-led Barbie‘s gargantuan success, Mattel is now eyeing towards making movies of their other properties. But it’s not Mattel alone in the process, as Lionsgate confirmed the Kevin Hart-led Monopoly movie is currently in development.
Lionsgate Breaks Silence on the State of the Kevin Hart-Led Monopoly
Interestingly, the Monopoly movie has been in the talks for years now, long before Barbie‘s live-action adaptation even entered early development. But it was in 2019 when the movie got some mainstream buzz, following the attachment of Kevin Hart, who was set to star in the movie. Hart would be reuniting with his long-time collaborator Tim Story, known for Think Like a Man and Ride Along. However, after the announcement, things fell silent, which reasonably led fans to think the project never took off and was shelved by Lionsgate.
But to everyone’s surprise, Monopoly is still in development, and it appears it might finally move past the talking stage, with Lionsgate revealing that it is closing its acquisition of eOne from Hasbro. This will result in them acquiring the rights to Hasbro’s Monopoly brand, and it won’t be surprising if it was Barbie‘s success that prompted the studio to get the Kevin Hart-led Monopoly running.
We Missed Out on a Ridley Scott-Led Monopoly
Prior to Kevin Hart and Tim Story being attached to the project, Universal was initially set to produce Monopoly following their partnership with Hasbro. Considering Hasbro’s Transformers adaptation was a huge success, the company was keen on getting its popular board game running. But unlike the Transformers, with the Monopoly movie, Universal was set to tell an original story by using the concept of the game, and the project was set to be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott. Unfortunately, as the story goes, the idea of a Scott-led Monopoly movie never got off the ground.
Although we can do nothing but imagine what a Ridley Scott-led Monopoly would have looked like, as of now, it seems the Kevin Hart-led version might finally take off. But considering it has been four years since the last announcement, Kevin Hart might no longer be involved in this project.
