Annapurna Interactive’s award-winning video game Stray will be getting its very own movie adaptation from the indie studio’s animation branch, Annapurna Animation. Stray, a 2022 adventure game from BlueTwelve Studio, takes players on a journey playing as a drone-equipped, stray cat trying to survive against robots and machines.
The Stray adaptation was announced by Robert Baird of Annapurna Animation. “This is a game that’s all about what makes us human, and there are no humans in it,” Baird told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a buddy comedy about a cat and a robot, and there’s such a hilarious dynamic. So, there’s comedy inherent in this, but there’s not one human being in this movie. I think it’s one of the reasons why the game was incredibly popular, that you are seeing the world through the point of view of an adorable cat.”
Baird added that, style-wise, the film will take on “hopepunk” aesthetics, which highlight positivity, kindness and optimism as rebellious weapons. “I love that term, hopepunk,” Baird said. “I think, if we are going to do this adaptation justice, this is going to be the first and greatest hopepunk movie that’s ever been made.”
This adaptation comes on the heels of numerous other video game films and television shows, including Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed over $1 billion at the global box office since its release in April, and HBO’s “The Last of Us,” which earned multiple Emmy nominations this year, including a nod for outstanding drama series.
The untitled Stray film is set to be helmed by Nick Bruno, who previous directed Annapurna’s “Nimona,” which was adapted from ND Stevenson’s graphic novel for Netflix.