Just as Netflixs live-action Resident Evil series finds itself flung unceremoniously onto the disappointment pile, news arrives of another video game being adapted for television – this time in the form of Obsidians inch-high garden adventure Grounded.
Released into early access back in July 2020, Grounded adapts the familiar gathering-and-crafting survival formula into a rollicking family friendly adventure inspired by the likes of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and A Bugs Life. Here, players are miniaturised and sent on a conspiracy laden escapade around their now-towering backyard, forced to fend off giant insects and other creatures as they explore, scavenge, and plot their escape.
According to Deadline, Groundeds new television adaptation will follow the same basic premise, telling the story of four friends who, the summer before high school, find their plans to elevate their social standing upended after discovering shrinking technology that makes them two inches tall. “Now the four shrunken friends must learn to survive in a towering backyard thats a jungle full of enormous predators,” explains Deadline, “and hiding a vast corporate conspiracy threatening their entire town.”
Star Wars: Clone Wars writer Brent Friedman (whos also working on the new Earthworm Jim series) will adapt Grounded for TV, and Brien Goodrich, who served as cinematics director on Halo 4 and 5, is attached to direct. The project is a collaboration between Obsidian, Xbox, Waterproof Studios/SC Productions, Kinetic Media, and Bardel Entertainment.
Grounded the game is due to leave early access and get its full Xbox and PC release this September, so dont expect to see the TV adaptation until well after its launch. Whenever it does arrive, though, itll be within a busy games-to-TV landscape, with adaptations of The Last of Us, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Twisted Metal, Gran Turismo, Ghost of Tsushima, and Fallout just some of the many, many high-profile projects confirmed to be on the way.