Apple is developing a movie based on Oregon Trail, the beloved educational computer game that has spawned multiple generations of in-jokes and memes among gamers.
THR reports that the film, which is currently early in development, will be an action-comedy with a handful of musical numbers in the vein of Barbie. Will Speck and Josh Gordon are reportedly attached to direct, with Kenny and Keith Lucas penning the screenplay alongside Max Reisman. The story, as you might expect, will be about a 19th-century covered wagon train traveling to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.
The musical aspect offers a glimpse of what to expect, suggesting that it will be a fairly irreverent take on the historical adventure. Songwriters and producers Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, who are best-known for their work on La La Land, are among those involved in the film.
The original game was developed as a text-based adventure in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computer Consortium starting in 1975. It found a lasting place in pop culture as generations of American school children watched their characters die of typhoid, dysentary, and all manner of other maladies, or wandered around shooting way too many buffalo.
Oregon Trail looks to be the latest classic game to get its own movie, following in the footsteps of Super Mario Bros. and other well-known franchises. The trend has found mixed success, with Mario earning more than a billion dollars, but Borderlands being a flop at the box office.
The Oregon Trail does not yet have a release date. You can find the rest of the biggest movies releasing in 2024 right here.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
