Four years ago, it was announced that Blumhouse Productions and director Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island) were teaming up again for a movie based on the Mattel toy Magic 8 Ball. Yes, the ball that you ask questions and then turn over to see which of twenty possible answers you might get. Since so much time has passed since that announcement was made, it’s not clear if Blumhouse or Wadlow are still involved with the project – but The New Yorker has revealed that Magic 8 Ball is still in the works, and Cocaine Bear screenwriter Jimmy Warden is writing the horror comedy.
The New Yorker reports that Mattel is “raiding its entire toybox” to find products to turn into movies, with Barbie looking like it’s going to be one of the biggest hits of the year. J.J. Abrams is working on Hot Wheels, Vin Diesel is plotting Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Daniel Kaluuya is making a Barney movie, Tom Hanks will star in Major Matt Mason (author Michael Chabon has written the treatment), a script is being written for American Girl. And Magic 8 Ball is coming from the writer who brought us Cocaine Bear.
Mattel Films has promised that none of their movies will be rated R and Robbie Brenner, the head of the company, says that while the Magic 8 Ball script “walks the line a little bit“, they’re not going to “make anything that feels violent, or that is alienating to families. We want to stay within the parameters of what Mattel is.“
When the project was first announced, Brenner said, “Since the 1950s, Magic 8 Ball has inspired imagination, suspense and intrigue across generations. This iconic toy has a built-in connection with fans and untapped potential for storytelling.“
At the time, Wadlow is working on the screenplay with his Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island collaborators Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach. It sounds like whatever they came up with has been set aside in favor of the Warden draft.
Are you interested in seeing a Magic 8 Ball horror comedy from the writer of Cocaine Bear? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
I no longer have the Magic 8 Ball I had when I was a kid, so I can’t ask it whether this movie is going to be good or not. Thankfully, they’re in stock on Amazon.
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