Popular visual novel and anime seriesSteins;Gateis going Hollywood, with the announcement that a live-action television series is in the works from Skydance Television. Though little is known at this time, the franchise is going all out to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original visual novel game.
The 10th anniversary project for the franchise has been in the works for some time, first announced in spring of last year. While it has taken some time, information on the various anniversary projects is finally being released. Skydance will have a lot to live up to in the handling of the critically-acclaimed series, as even now fanscontinue to heap praise on the series. The live-action series will stream worldwide, and is “coming soon” according to the announcement. Reports indicate that the plot for the series will be based on the anime.
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Steins;Gatestarted out as a visual novel—a text-based, branching narrative-driven genre—released by 5pb. (now Mages) for the Xbox 360 in 2009. That in and of itself makes it an anomaly, asthe Xbox has historically sold poorly in Japanand is not known as a platform for visual novels. The time-traveling story has since been ported to PC, consoles and mobile devices. It was adapted into a hugely popular anime in 2011, and the rest is history.
The original game has been given new life recently asSteins;Gate Elitedropped last year, adding full animation to the game to pair with the voiced dialogue of the original. The game has spawned a sequel and a number of side stories, which have slowly made their way to western shores. The most recent of which beingSteins;Gate: My Darling’s Embracelanding on Switch, PC, and PS4 in December.
TheSteins;Gatelive-action series is one of several projects taking video game & anime franchises and giving them the Hollywood treatment.Cowboy Bebopis well on its way, as is theOne Piecelive-action series. Both of those series will debut on Netflix, and with Skydance Television’s seriesAltered Carbonsoon to debut its second season on the streaming service, there is speculation thatSteins;Gatewill also find its home on Netflix. On the big screen, Sonic the Hedgehog received a thorough makeoverbut now is looking set to make a big splash.
Adapting video games and anime into live-action is a tricky prospect, but a solid adaptation can be done with the right pieces in place. The game’s creator Chiyomaru Shikura says on Twitter “as someone who likes films, Skydance is a production company I love.” So there’s hope the live-action version ofSteins;Gatewill live up to the series legacy.
Fans of Okabe Rintarou and Makise Kurisu’s time-traveling adventures may have to wait a while to see these beloved characters in their Hollywood debut, but the wait gives them plenty of time to brush up on the series lore and revisit the game’s world. At least it’s not likely to run intothe issues that have plagued theUnchartedseries.
Steins;Gate Eliteis available now on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
