By: Taimur Sikander Mirza 

Corus Entertainment-owned prodco and distributor Nelvana has struck a deal with L.A.- and Kansas City-based Andrews McMeel Entertainment (AME) to adapt the Trapped in a Video Game books into a series of films.

Development is currently underway on the first film, with Nelvana and AME looking for international partners, according to a news release.

The Trapped in a Video Game book series is created and written by Dustin Brady and published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. The books follow the adventures of a 12-year-old who gets sucked into a video game.

The first of the five books was published in 2018 and the series has sold nearly 2.5 million copies worldwide, added the release.

“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, VP of Nelvana Studios, in a statement.

The announcement comes days after a restructure of Corus’ content teams, with former Nelvana head Pam Westman retiring as of Wednesday (Jan. 31), and Nelvana Enterprises lead Mellany Welsh stepping in to take over the role.

AME is represented by Independent Artist Group.

Photo courtesy Andrews McMeel Publishing

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen Daily‘s sister publication Playback Daily.