‘Trapped In A Video Game’ Film Series Based On Dustin Brady’s Bestsellers In Works From Nelvana, Andrews McMeel Entertainment

Matt Grobar
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Nelvana, an international producer, distributor and licensor of children’s animated and live-action content, is teaming with Andrews McMeel Entertainment to develop a series of CG animated features based on Trapped in a Video Game, the series of bestselling books by Dustin Brady.

A five-book set published by Andrews McMeel Publishing, which launched in 2018, Trapped in a Video Game illustrates that getting sucked into one is not as much fun as you might think. Sure, there are jetpacks, hover tanks, and infinite lives, but what happens when the game starts to turn on you? In the books, 12-year-old Jesse Rigsby finds out just how dangerous video games — and the people making those games — can be. Expect the films to deliver the same action, plot twists and humor.

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To date, the Trapped in a Video Game series has sold nearly 2.5 million copies worldwide. While development is underway on the first movie, Nelvana and Andrews McMeel Entertainment are currently in search of international partners.

“The energetic, edge-of-your-seat adventures that Dustin Brady has created aligns so well with Nelvana’s brand of world class storytelling,” said Athena Georgaklis, Vice President of Nelvana Studios. “Books have the power to transcend pages, and when those stories are extended to new platforms, we can give fans another way to experience their favourite characters. It’s a pleasure working with Andrews McMeel Entertainment to build upon the Trapped in a Video Game fandom.”

Added Matt Sheppo, Head of Development at Andrews McMeel, “Dustin Brady enthralled readers with the first Trapped in a Video Game, and fans have eagerly anticipated (and subsequently delighted in) each book that followed. The vibrant and imaginative adventures lend themselves perfectly to screens, and we’re confident viewers will be just as thrilled with each film. Nelvana is an ideal partner to bring the popular series to life.”

Entertaining kids for over 50 years, Nelvana’s content airs on Corus Entertainment’s kids channels in Canada and in over 180 countries around the world. A producer on Max’s reboot of Clone High, the company has also recently put out kids’ titles like Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Horrid Henry’s Gross Day Out, and Thomas & Friends: Ghost Train, to name just a few.

Recent projects from Andrews McMeel Entertainment include a starry animated Marmaduke feature for Netflix, animated series Big Nate for Nickelodeon and Paramount+, Columbia Pictures and Alcon Entertainment’s forthcoming The Garfield Movie starring Chris Pratt, and Rupi Kaur Live, a live poetry performance special for Prime Video.

Andrews McMeel Entertainment is represented by Independent Artist Group.

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