Lionsgate Developing Film Based On Dead Island Trailer

Major film studio Lionsgate has optioned the rights to
develop a movie based on Deep Silver's recent zombie survival game Dead Island, though the game itself will not be the primary source for the adaptation.

Lionsgate said the film will instead take its "primary creative
inspiration" from the game's emotional trailer, which quickly became a
viral sensation that garnered millions of views after its February
release.

The computer-animated trailer,
rendered largely backwards and in slow-motion, does not feature any
gameplay footage, but focuses on the efforts of a vacationing family
struggling to survive after their resort is overrun with the undead.

That trailer went on to win a coveted Golden Lion Award
at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and was named
to Adweek's annual list of the World's Best Commercials.

Dead Island was released on September 6 to middling reviews, and has since gone on to sell over 2 million copies, including 1 million North American shipments in its first week.

The Mummy producer Sean Daniel and The Amityville Horror producer Stefan
Sonnenfeld have been attached to produce the film, which is in the
early development stages, Lionsgate said.

"Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck," Lionsgate's co-COO and Motion Picture Group president Joe Drake said in a statement.

"This is exactly the type of property we're looking to adapt at
Lionsgate - it's sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre
that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the
world, and franchise potential."