Donald Glover Set to Star in and Direct Netflix's Live-Action PUBG Series
Donald Glover is heading into the battle royale arena! Netflix is developing a live-action series adaptation of Krafton’s massively popular video game PUBG, with Glover set to star, direct, write, and executive produce the project.
Glover is teaming up with his brother, Stephen Glover, to write and executive produce the series, reuniting the creative duo behind FX’s acclaimed Atlanta.
The project reportedly came together after lengthy negotiations, with Netflix bringing Glover aboard to help bring the hit survival shooter to television. There's no word yet on what kind of story the series will tell, but it'll be interesting to see how the brothers turn a game built around 100 players fighting to be the last one standing into a live-action show.
The Glover brothers have a pretty great track record together. Both worked as writers and executive producers on Atlanta, which Donald created, starred in, and directed. His work on the series earned him two Emmy Awards, one for acting and another for directing.
Glover also starred in Community before moving on to projects like Atlanta. In 2021, he left his longtime home at FX for an exclusive overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios. That agreement has since been renewed as a first-look deal, giving him the freedom to work with other studios, including Netflix.
He remains an executive producer on Amazon's Mr. and Mrs. Smith and is rumored to return as Mr. Smith in the show's upcoming second season, potentially in a smaller role.
As for PUBG, the game originally launched in 2017 under the title PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and quickly became a massive success. It has since earned seven Guinness World Records and helped popularize the battle royale genre.
Krafton has been looking to expand the franchise beyond gaming for years. The Korean publisher announced plans for PUBG movie and television projects back in 2020, with its entertainment division, LV3H, helping develop original content based on the franchise.
An animated PUBG series from Castlevania executive producer Adi Shankar was also announced in 2021 and was previously in development at Netflix.
PUBG is the latest addition to Netflix's growing lineup of video game adaptations. The streamer is also developing a live-action Assassin's Creed series, a live-action Gears of War movie, animated projects based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, and Clash of Clans, along with an Overcooked competition series.
Glover is a talented filmmaker with a knack for mixing comedy, drama, and unexpected storytelling, and there's plenty of room to get creative with a battle royale concept. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with this.
The biggest question is whether Netflix plans to deliver a straightforward survival-action series or something a little stranger and more unpredictable. With the Glover brothers writing it, I'm hoping they take some creative swings while keeping the intense competition and survival elements that made the game such a hit.
Either way, Donald Glover jumping into the world of PUBG is a pretty cool development, and I'm curious to see what he and Stephen have planned.