Jerry Bruckheimer is reportedly developing a live-action movie with Paramount Pictures based on the popular Beyblade toy franchise.
According to Deadline, Jerry Bruckheimer, the blockbuster producer behind the likes of Top Gun, Bad Boys, and Pirates of the Caribbean, will be overseeing a feature film based on the bestselling Beyblade spinning tops, which were originally developed by Japanese firm Takara in the late ’90s before being licensed by several different toy companies such as Hasbro.
Hourman movie writers Neil Widener and Gavin James are both reportedly scripting the Beyblade feature, but plot details are being kept under wraps for now as the film is only said to be in the early stages of development, meaning that we should expect more details to spin out from the project as it moves further along.
The idea of a Beyblade movie has been explored in the past, specifically in 2015 when Paramount acquired the rights to the property, having already turned Hasbro’s Transformers and G.I. Joe toy lines into feature franchises. That project was to be produced by Mary Parent’s Disruption Entertainment, but news of it fell silent after the initial announcement.
Beyblade was licensed outside of Asia in 2002 and attracted increased acclaim in the ensuing years. The franchise, like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Bakugan properties, then found even greater mainstream success by pairing an anime series with the toy. It worked for a while but eventually ran out of momentum, even with a handful of video game tie-ins in its inventory.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
