Back in February it was announced that the new video game title from Techland and Deep Silver, Dead Island, would be turned into a movie before the game itself even hit store shelves. The news was later denied by Deep Silver, who said that many parties were interested in turning it into a movie, but no deals had been struck yet. One thing was for sure, however, and that is that the buzz was clearly not coming from the game itself (no gameplay footage had been released at that point) but from an incredible cinematic trailer that had been released a few days earlier and took the world by storm.

As it turns out, the man who was first reported to have acquired the rights to make a Dead Island movie, Sean Daniels and his Sean Daniel Company, is involved in the project along with Stefan Sonnefeld. But its Lionsgate who has stepped in to option the rights to develop the movie, putting all the pieces into place to get this bad boy moving forward.

The game takes place on the tropical island of Banoi at a vacation resort, where a virus spreads turning many of the vacationing tourists into flesh–eating zombies and forcing you and a few others into a fight to survival the hellish paradise. You can read our review of the game, by heading here.

Lionsgate motion picture group president Joe Drake said of the deal “This is exactly the type of property we’re looking to adapt at Lionsgate – it’s sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential.”

No word yet on when we might see the movie, but the plan is to focus primarily on the bonds of family (again, likely inspired by that cinematic trailer), and non–linear storytelling.

[Source: THR]