Atari signs off on Centipede and Missile Command movies

Atari is partnering with EFO Films to make movies based off of its arcade classic Missile Command and Centipede games, according to a report on Deadline Hollywood. Before you wonder how on Earth you make two feature-length presentations about shooting down missiles with a trackball and blasting one big centipede into lots of smaller centipedes, take a moment to remember the existence of Battleship. Yeah.

EFO has previously worked on films including End of Watch and Escape Plan, and cofounders Randall Emmett and George Furla will produce the movies. Atari will serve as an executive producer - which may sound like a lot to manage, but its current incarnation was actually just 10 employees as of 2014, according to VentureBeat.

Atari CEO Frédéric Chesnais said his company is “thrilled to partner with Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films to develop feature films based on two of our most beloved titles. Centipede and Missile Command are part of Atari’s unparalleled and rich library of popular games and we cannot wait to see the movies come to life".

EFO will have plenty of room for creative license with both properties. Assuming it doesn't build off of Centipede's existing role in the Pixels Cinematic Universe, that is.

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Image: Columbia Pictures