Netflix is developing a live-action series adaptation of the popular Battle Royale video game, PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds), with rapper and Community star Donald Glover attached to star and co-write its script.
As reported by Variety, Glover will write and executive produce the series with his brother and frequent collaborator Stephen Glover. The 43-year-old, who is known for his roles in Community and Solo: A Star Wars Story, and also for his rap career under the stage name Childish Gambino, is also planning to direct the PUBG series.
The original game was developed by Krafton and released in 2017, and it became one of the earliest pioneers of the popular Battle Royale multiplayer game genre, which sees groups of players being deployed into a large map alone or in teams, and having to scavenge to survive against each other as the map’s playable area starts to shrink until only one victor remains. As a multiplayer game, PUBG does not have a plot, so it will be interesting to see how the Glover siblings transform the IP into a series.
Donald and Stephen previously worked together on the FX surrealist comedy-drama series Atlanta, which ran for four seasons from 2016 to 2022. Other projects the siblings collaborated on include the 2023 Amazon horror series Swarm, the 2019 musical film Guava Island, and most recently, the 2024 series Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Other executive producers attached to the PUBG series include Michael Schaefer of Neon TV, Fam Udeorji for Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee for LV3H, the entertainment division of Krafton. The project also marks yet another video game adaptation from Netflix following the recent release of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2, alongside upcoming ones like the Assassin’s Creed series and a Gears of War live-action film.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
