Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG) announced just today that it has acquired the film and TV rights to best-selling video game Myst. As the press release goes, "the company will rely on and expand upon the game’s existing mythology to develop a multi-platform universe including film, scripted and unscripted television content." Details beyond that are non-existent, so until we see some actual dates, casting, and creative talent assigned, consider us cautiously optimistic.

Back in 2010, Myst was going to be a live-action movie from Mysteria Film Group and Cyan Worlds; that didn't happen. Then, in 2014, Legendary TV and Digital Media were going to turn the game into a TV series; that didn't happen. A year later, Hulu joined the party as the potential home for the show; that didn't happen. Sense a pattern? So while we'd love to see a Myst adaptation, news of yet another acquisition deal for the property (kudos to Cyan Worlds for reselling said rights over and over) doesn't have us jazzed; call us when someone finds all the Blue Pages.

Here's more from VREG's announcement; make of it what you will:

VREG will take a full-scale approach to developing MYST into content across all divisions with the company’s entire creative team working together to adapt these projects across film and television. Under the direction of its controlling shareholder, Vine Alternative Investments, VREG recently set a new mandate with the appointment of CEO Steve Mosko to transform into a broad-spectrum content creator with an emphasis on television, streaming and other emerging distribution platforms. This move complements its business of developing and co-financing feature films including JOKER that will be released by Warner Bros. on October 4, 2019.

 

The vast MYST canon has over 10,000 years of history, but its primary saga follows Atrus, a brilliant (if a bit naïve) grandson of Anna, a woman who triggers a world-shaping set of events when she discovers the D’ni civilization in a cavern deep below the New Mexico desert. The D’ni have a unique ability to write books that can link to other worlds. The discovery of their ability and the clash of cultures is the catalyst for the MYST novels and games. Until 2002, MYST was the best-selling PC game of all time, and to date the franchise has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Myst spawned several successful sequels including the critically acclaimed RIVEN in 1997. A series of Myst novels were also published. The books vividly explore the lives and backstories of the game’s characters.

 

First released in 1993, Myst is a first-person graphic adventure video game, created by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and the company they founded Cyan. Village Roadshow will develop and produce alongside the original co-creator Rand Miller and his youngest brother Ryan Miller, as well as Isaac Testerman and Yale Rice at Delve Media.

 

The MYST game is credited as a one of the first examples of video games being described as art, and it is often sighted as having been a key influence on many contemporary creatives in diverse entertainment areas including video games, television, and motion pictures.