You might want to buckle up for this one, because it’s a doozy. The long-in-the-works Pac-Man movie might be in trouble due to director Justin Baldoni’s ongoing legal battle against Blake Lively following accusations of misconduct during the production of 2024’s box office hit It Ends With Us.
The romantic drama was a box office hit last year with $351 million earned in cinemas across the globe on a measly $25 million budget. But real-life drama soon hit the success story, as co-star Blake Lively accused director and co-lead Justin Baldoni of creating and fostering a hostile work environment, as well as sexual harassment. Now, this is affecting the development of Pac-Man’s big-screen debut.
The Hollywood Reporter has released an extensive article that goes into the whys and hows surrounding both this long-gestating project and Baldoni and Lively’s ongoing battle. The complete thing is worth a read if you’re interested in the whole story, but we’ve collected the key Pac-Man-related points here.
“According to a text he sent his PR team on Aug. 18, Baldoni suggested sharing the news that he would next direct a Pac-Man movie, something he hoped would help him move towards the future,” THR states. We knew he and his Wayfarer Studios had been attached to the project since 2022, yet it was unclear whether he’d direct the movie himself. “It is among at least a trio of projects that are now in doubt as friction with Lively turned from internet curiosity into a full-fledged legal war.”
Bandai Namco, the rights owner, is yet to respond to a request for comment from THR. We also know that Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop) was writing a script, though its current status is unclear. Following the release of the video game anthology series Secret Level on Prime Video (now renewed for a second season) last year and the inclusion of a horror-adjacent Pac-Man short, we have to wonder if the pitch for the movie was moving along those lines too. In early December, we also received the sudden announcement of a mature Metroidvania reinvention of the IP called Shadow Labyrinth directly influenced by the short.
“No new projects have materialized for Wayfarer amid the Lively battle, though the company is said to be interested in pursuing a new deal of some sort, as a show of good faith that people would still like to do business with them,” concludes the THR piece. For now, let’s consider the Pac-Man movie frozen but holding on for dear life, with or without Baldoni.