Apple Set To Adapt Oregon Trail Video Game Into Movie With Musical Numbers — But Hopefully No Dysentery

One of the most beloved children's computer video games is getting a movie adaptation. "The Oregon Trail" is sparking an action-comedy movie featuring songs, adding to the lineup of game adaptations in the works by big studios and streaming companies.

What Happened: The 1970s educational computer game "The Oregon Trail" is being adapted into a movie by Apple Inc AAPL, joining the list of video games becoming movies, including "Tetris" from Apple in 2023.  

Will Speck and Josh Gordon will direct and produce the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The duo is behind films such as "Blades of Glory," "The Switch" and "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile."

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will produce and provide original music for the movie according to the report. The duo are part of the EGOT club, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. Pasek and Paul have worked on the hit television show "Only Murders in the Building" and also helped with songs and soundtracks for "La La Land" and "The Greatest Showman."

Speck, Gordon, Pasek and Paul all worked together on "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" previously.

"The Oregon Trail" movie adaptation will feature several musician numbers, according to the report, in the same realm as "Barbie," the highly successful movie adaptation of the hit toy brand.

Apple won the film pitch from the team working on adapting the movie and the film remains in the early stages according to the report.

HarperCollins, which is owned by News Corporation NWS, owns the rights to the video game franchise. Caroline Fraser will produce for HarperCollins Productions.

Read Also: Apple To Follow Netflix, Disney? Ad-Supported AppleTV+ Streaming Plan Could Launch Soon

Why It's Important: Released in 1971, "The Oregon Trail" is one of the most popular and most well-known computer games of all time. The hit game has inspired mobile game versions, card games and a musical.

Many students played the game while in grade school and middle school, as it was meant to teach students about the harsh conditions and loss of life during the 19th century as settlers moved west along the Oregon Trail.

The game had players hunt, fish, buy and sell goods, and make decisions based on their route and wagon members. Some members would die along the way, including from gastrointestinal infection and dysentery.

During the game, players would occasionally be met with the words on the screen of one of their wagon members dying of dysentery, which has become a phrase associated with the game in popular culture today.

Apple has not announced whether the movie will play in theaters or be a streaming exclusive on its AppleTV+ platform.

The technology giant recently debuted "Wolfs" in a limited theatrical release ahead of a streaming  premiere in September. The film went on to be the most viewed movie in AppleTV+ history and boosted viewership by 30% week-over-week when added to the platform.

Apple has seen recent success at the Academy Awards with “CODA,” which won a historic Oscar for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards.

Other Apple-produced movies also saw theatrical releases. They include:

• "Killers of the Flowers Moon": $67.9 million domestic, $89 million international, $156.9 million global
• "Napoleon": $61.5 million domestic, $159.5 million international, $221 million global
• "Argylle": $44.2 million domestic, $48.2 million international, $92.5 million global

In total, the three movies cost around $700 million for Apple and grossed $470.4 million worldwide, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

While the box office figures didn’t break even on costs, a studio source told Variety that both “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Napoleon” were profitable thanks to other revenue streams.

Apple has adopted a strategy of premiering its major films in theaters before offering them exclusively on its streaming platform, Apple TV+. This model helps Apple recover some of its costs and could also help the company become a staple for award shows requiring a theatrical run.

With the "Wolfs" model of going limited release and then streaming, the industry will closely watch future Apple films to see which release model the technology giant uses.

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