Ambitious Stars-Hana Fund Lining Up Video Games Based On James Wan, Sam Raimi, Roy Lee, Jon M. Chu Projects; Film Slate Revealed

Andreas Wiseman
·4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Film projects with genre supremos James Wan, Sam Raimi and Roy Lee attached as producers are set to be turned into video games by ambitious new Sino-American fund Stars-Hana, which we revealed in October.

The fund combines Peter Luo’s Stars Collective, Chinese firm Hana Investment and Starlight Media: the three partners hosted a launch event in LA last month. The idea is to invest in verticals including film, TV, comics, games, collectibles, consumer goods, AI and new tech over a three-year period.

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Today, the three companies have revealed first details of the slate, which includes ambitions to create video games based on Stars Collective film IP.

The fund is partnering with game companies including Tencent and Tencent-owned DreamSky Technology, as well as HYJZ and Forevernine, to develop games based on the following projects, some of which have been announced and some we are revealing for the first time today:

  • The Garfield Movie, starring Chris Pratt

  • Every House is Haunted, from Sam Raimi and Roy Lee

  • The Burden, from James Wan and Sam Raimi

  • Hunting Season from James Wan and Don Murphy

  • James Wan’s The Call of Cthulhu, Mass Extinction and GMO

  • The Goxfather with Jon M. Chu

  • Memory Lost in Space, based on the novels by Tong Hua

Stars Collective is a producer on all the above films — most of which are in development — with the exception of Sony’s upcoming Garfield, on which Stars Collective holds a 25-year exclusive merchandising license in China. Raimi, Lee, Wan and Chu are all on the above projects as producers.

Wan recently described Call Of Cthulhu, an adaptation of the classic horror short story by science-fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft., as a “dream project” and one he had been quietly working on for five years. The story involves a man investigating a demonic cult known as Cthulhu.

Sci-fi thriller GMO, set in the future, alights on a newly invented drug that solves a global famine but whose side effects drastically accelerate the ageing process. After knowing that his estranged father has developed an antidote, ‘Scott’ decides to find him and save human beings from extinction, no matter what it takes.

In Mass Extinction, humans have lost earth to an alien virus, and a research and rescue team is sent down from the moon to deliver a cure to save the human race. On their way to delivering the cure, they must fight off a host of mutated animals and humans.

Biopic The Goxfather will follow Mark Karpeles who once owned and ran the biggest bitcoin exchange in the world. The sudden disappearance of half a billion dollars worth of customer-owned bitcoins made him a prisoner.

Stars Collective — which is a producer on upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Monkey — and Hana Management are also tapping into their fund to develop three new original film franchises under Stars Collective, all of which will be gamified. These are the ‘Genius Crime’ franchise, a ‘Kung Fu’ universe, and a new horror franchise featuring female ghost stories inspired by Asian folklore and legends.

Thai actress Kitty Chicha (Girl from Nowhere) is set to star in the first installment of the folklore franchise. In the film, a bullied high school orphan (Chicha) must confront a twisted tale of love and revenge when she stumbles upon a mysterious katana haunted by a vengeful geisha spirit. Amid unexplained deaths among her bullies, she unravels the truth.

Starlight Media CEO, Stars Collective founder Peter Luo said: “This initiative marks a significant stride in blending the worlds of cinema and gaming, promising a diverse array of entertainment options for audiences worldwide. We have an amazing partner in Hana Investment to realize this vision and welcome exciting new relationships with Tencent and others to deliver exciting new experiences.”

Stars Collective Co-CEOs William Li and Nancy Xu added: “There are tremendous opportunities to extend stories beyond film, and video games carry equal weight in terms of their broad impact and ability to enhance IP. Looking deeply into the Stars Collective’s IP portfolio, we saw a natural opportunity to connect with audiences through the touchpoints they engage with most to cultivate and grow IP, which is why we are deploying funds in this space alongside our partners at Hana.”

Stars Collective and Hana Investment have also invested in Mokeng, one of China’s leading toy brands, to expand its reach into North America. An international version of the Chinese Mokeng app is due to launch soon.

China’s Hana Investment is an investment platform of Korean holding company Hana Financial Group, which has pan-Asian reach. Hana Investment mainly invests in high-growth industries in China and overseas, including medical services, energy, and media. It has also made investments in toys, mobile games, reality shows, and food and drinks brands.

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