Get ready to groove; a ToeJam and Earl movie is heading your way!
Following the huge success of both Sonic the Hedgehog movies, Sega began hatching plans for two of their properties to come to the big screen. Still, the chosen games Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone were perhaps unlikely choices in comparison to other franchises in Sega’s back catalogue.
Streets of Rage and Golden Axe are just two series that come to mind as immediately cinematic!
You can check out Retro Dodo’s coverage of that announcement in our Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone movies article!
Now, a third Sega-related movie is on the cards – and it’s yet another unlikely choice for a movie adaptation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, ToeJam and Earl is in development!
Not only is it an unexpected choice for a movie adaptation, but it’s also being produced by Amazon Studios and Unanimous Media – the latter being a production company owned by NBA basketball player Steph Curry.
What Is…And Who Are – ToeJam And Earl?
First appearing in ToeJam and Earl on the Mega Drive/Genesis back in 1991, the debut title is a top-down, action adventure video game starring the two titular aliens.
The game sees the slender ToeJam and his large buddy Earl looking to track down the pieces of their crashed starship on Earth.
Randomised levels, surreal bad guys, a funky, groovy soundtrack and even a dynamic 2 player split screen mode gave the first game an incredibly unique feel.
It proved popular enough that it spawned a side-scrolling, 16-bit sequel – ToeJam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron, again on Mega Drive/Genesis, with both games appearing on our best Sega Mega Drive games list – in 1993, before disappearing until the largely forgotten, third person 3D platformer ToeJam and Earl III on the original Xbox in 2002.
It was assumed that this would be the last we saw of the laidback, funky alien duo – but they were rebooted in the 2019 game ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove from HumaNature Studios, which brought them back in an adventure that closely homaged the style of the very first ToeJam and Earl game.
What Sort of Film Could ToeJam and Earl be?
Given the surreal nature of the funky duo’s adventures – not to mention their incredibly alien appearances – it’s likely that it’ll be heavily reliant on CGI in some way, almost certainly for the main characters.
Could we see an ET-esque pairing of ToeJam and Earl with some human kids who help them get their spaceship repaired – styled as a comedy adventure with CGI main characters?
The possibilities are wide open at this stage, but one thing’s for sure: the soundtrack is sure to be an absolute banger!
How Likely Are We To See ToeJam and Earl Make It To The Big Screen?
The small nugget of information that The Hollywood Reporter shared would seem to indicate that the Toejam and Earl movie is in the very early stages of development.
The only other information – aside from the production company details – that has been released are the details on who’s lined up to write the screenplay.
We’re looking to Amos Vernon and Nunzio Randazzo, who also wrote Hotel Transylvania 4, to step up to the groovy plate!
With no release date or any other information, it’s not likely that we’ll be seeing ToeJam and Earl hitting cinema screens before 2024, but we will of course be covering any further updates – so stay tuned!
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Jason – who lives in the UK – has had a lifelong interest in video games, which all started when he discovered Space Invaders in the early 80s. The first game he ever completed was Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Sega Master System – which remains one of his proudest gaming achievements. Jason is a passionate writer – and has been writing about gaming since the late 90s. He currently runs pop culture blog midlifegamergeek.com, which he updates on a daily basis (and has written more than 700 articles on the blog alone!).
Outside of video games, Jason is a keen tabletop gamer, film buff and comic book fan.
