Sul Sul! Like many of us, I've poured hundreds – if not thousands – of hours of my life into The Sims. I have very fond memories of playing the first game on an ancient desktop computer, then the sequel on a laptop that could not run it properly, before graduating to The Sims 3 and 4. I've built sprawling family dynasties, terrorized Sims with repeated visits from the Grim Reaper (did you know, if you stargaze for too long, you might be crushed by a falling satellite? My Sims found out the hard way), and of course deleted my fair share of pool ladders.
So, when The Sims movie was announced, I was cautiously optimistic. Before Barbie, I would've written it off immediately as a terrible idea, doomed to fall into the ranks of many other failed video game adaptations. But, considering how marvellous Barbie turned out to be at accomplishing a similar feat – adapting a property that doesn't obviously lend itself to a blockbuster movie format – and the fact that Margot Robbie's LuckyChap is producing, I decided not to write it off just yet.
And, with the latest update, I'm more all in than ever before. EA vice president Kate Gorman has promised "there will be a lot of lore" in the movie – and that is an excellent sign.
More lore
Any Sims fan can probably talk your ear off about the series' deeply strange lore. If you've only ever built happy families and never explored any deeper, you're seriously missing out. For one thing, there's the mysterious Bella Goth, who was abducted by aliens and then reappeared in Strangetown with no memory. Then there's Olive Specter and her curious parade of dead suitors – with names like Rigger Mortis and Earl E. DeMise – her son Nervous Subject, who might just be the Grim Reaper's child, and the many, many deaths connected to her (seriously, there are 19 graves on her property).
There's the Remington family and their strange deaths (electrocution, drowning, the list goes on) and their now-haunted house, the Landgraab family's unexplained fortune (though, judging by their name, I can guess how they got rich), and the Von Haunt Estate, said to have been accidentally burned down by a dissatisfied painter some years ago. And we're only getting started.
Don't forget the other games beyond the core titles, too, with the Nintendo DS Sims 2 game seeing you run your own hotel – battling aliens, mobsters, and robots – while the PSP version sees you live with a ghost maid, run up against a cult of cow worshippers, and fight zombies in your own neighborhood.
In short, the Sims is packed with creepy, strange, and downright fascinating lore. If the movie is even going to scratch the surface of everything there is to offer, that's excellent news.
Plus, there's the fact that Gorman even joked about "a pool without a ladder," a sign that the filmmakers are fully aware of every player's dark, twisted tendency to torture their Sims, for… reasons. Hell, just take a look at the Reddit posts asking people to share the most messed up stuff they've done in the Sims. It'll scar you for life.
Take me to Strangetown
The Sims has never just been an ordinary life simulator, despite what the name will suggest. There's the creepy alien stuff going on in Strangetown, the vampires and werewolves on the prowl, the ghosts, the Grim Reaper himself, and much, much more to explore. If the filmmakers can weave together a story that reflects the strange, fascinating, and tantalizing nature of the Sims's unexplained mysteries and bizarre occurrences, then it'll surely be a worthy adaptation of such a beloved and iconic games series.
With Loki mastermind Kate Herron at the helm, I very much have faith that something wonderfully weird and wacky is on the way. We'll have to wait a little longer to see just how the movie pans out, but, for now, I'm very excited to see the lore that's in store. Who knows, maybe it'll even top Barbie's deep-cut allusions to Midge and Weird Barbie? Dag Dag!
For more, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all of the year's major movie release dates. You can also scratch that Sims itch with our guide to all the games like the Sims to play now.
