Epic Games eyes Fortnite movie as it begins expansion into wider entertainment media
Epic Games is planning a new entertainment division, and that may arrive with a Fortnite movie as well as some other projects.
If you thought Fortnite was already all over the place, just you wait: it looks like Epic could be eyeing an expansion into wider media, extending its already comprehensive grip on the media world.
Epic's expansion into more traditional media like films, TV and other scripted video projects was reported today by The Information today, as Epic considers what other avenue streams are open to it now that Apple has put a halt to its mobile gaming escapades thanks to the massive lawsuit you've probably read about.
According to the report from The Information, three high-ranking LucasFilm employees – including the studio's former VP of physical production, Jason McGatlin – joined Epic Games earlier this year, hinting that cinematic projects from the company are a pretty big priority. Lynn Bartsch and Chris Furia (head of business affairs and vice president of production finance) also jumped ship to Epic from LucasFilm.
As per the report, a Fortnite movie has reportedly "already been discussed" at the studio's special projects department – though that's about the extent of what we know so far.
Epic is understanably searching for other ways of getting into the public's heads now that Apple has barred it from the App Store, and given Epic probably won't appear on Apple storefronts again for the foreseeable future, it makes sense the company wants to look into other entertainment divisions.
Perhaps the myriad movie tie-ins and cameos in Fortnite start to make more sense now; the Fortnite mythos has long been working towards a metaverse of content, and if these IP crossovers from various franchises have got studio execs from around Hollywood in Epic's contact book, we could be looking at another Ready Player One in the future.
Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, we'll let you decide.