Jerry Bruckheimer will be producing a live-action movie with Paramount based on the popular toy franchise Beyblade, Pirates of the Caribbean, ARMAGEDDON, National Treasure and Top Gun are all huge blockbusters with one theme in common, Jerry Bruckheimer. Now, as reported by DEADLINE, the blockbuster king will be producing a live-action movie with Paramount based on the popular toy franchise Beyblade.
The film is in early development, but the Transformers studio will likely be considering franchise potential given the popularity of the toys, which have sold hundreds of millions of units.
What is Beyblade?
The top spinning toys were originally developed by Japanese firm Takara and have been licensed by different toy companies, including Hasbro. The battling tops concept inspired manga, anime, and comics series, followed by localized international TV versions, all based around a Beyblade fighting tournament. Early Beyblades included Ultimate Frostic Dranzer, Spin Dragoon and Saizo.
The tops fight in arenas called Beystadiums, similar to coliseums with open sections in the walls and openings on the sides to launch into. Each Beyblade has a BeyLauncher, used to launch into battle. The toys originated in Japan and were licensed to Hasbro in 2001. The toyline got a second wind in 2009 when a second-generation called Metal Fusion became a big seller, and a new generation of the Beyblades was released in 2017. The most recent, the Beyblade Burst, was launched in 2021. Sales and online trades have continued to grow with new rare Beyblades being released and sold.
The toys have also spawned their own anime series and films. Originally airing in Japan on TV Tokyo from January 8th, 2001, to December 24, 2001, the series was licensed by Nelvana, who produced the English-language adaptation of the series, including its two sequel series, Beyblade V-Force and Beyblade G-Revolution, and the 2002 film Beyblade: The Movie - Fierce Battle. Since then, more anime series have been produced and released as the popularity of the toys grew.
Pirates Of The Caribbean producer Bruckheimer and Paramount are finally due to release the anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick this summer. The Hollywood producer is also in production on Paramount action-adventure movie Secret Headquarters with Owen Wilson and on the modern-day TV adaptation of the 1980 film American Gigolo with Paramount TV. He is also producing the Brad Pitt Formula One movie, which has Top Gun: Maverick director Joeseph Kosinski on board and will be heading towards Apple TV+.
Neil Widener and Gavin James are scripting this new project, which of course, plot details are being kept under wraps. Widener and James have been developing an adaptation of comic Hourman with Warner Bros, DC Films and Chernin Entertainment. The two have also worked on scripts including Now You See Me 3 for Lionsgate and Michael Crichton novel adaptation Micro. Bruckheimer is known for going big with his action films and franchises over the years. With the Beyblade toys being all about the action and the fight, we may be able to expect a huge film hitting the streaming service with possible spin-offs.
Paramount’s reportedly spinning up a Beyblade movie with Jerry Bruckheimer
Paramount is reportedly making a live-action movie based on Beyblade fighting tops, which Deadline says will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (who’s had a hand in the Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure franchises, and has produced movies like Bad Boys and Black Hawk Down). For those unfamiliar, Beyblades are toys that you fling together into an arena using a specialized launcher, hoping to knock your opponent’s Beyblade out of the ring or stop it from spinning. They also feature in several manga series (the first came out around the same time as the toys in 1999), some of which have been turned into animated TV shows.
Deadline says the movie is still in “early production,” but the idea of a Beyblade movie has been floating around for awhile. In 2015, Deadline reported that Paramount had purchased the rights to make a live-action Beyblade movie produced by Mary Parent (who’s worked on projects like Pacific Rim, Detective Pikachu, and Dune). Now, Deadline reports that writers Neil Widener and Gavin James have been attached to the project, along with Bruckheimer.
Adaptations based on children’s toys aren’t a new phenomenon; the Transformers movies brought in billions of dollars for Paramount, and the Lego movies and My Little Pony shows are relatively well-known. And that’s not even mentioning media based on card games like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Of course, basing something on a popular toy isn’t an instant recipe for success — the 2012 film Battleship was hardly a cultural touchstone, and when was the last time you saw a Bionicle movie?
Given the lack of details on the Beyblade adaption, it’s hard to predict whether it’ll be worth a spin. Sure, it’s hard to imagine how you could make a movie about top fighting interesting, but the writers won’t be the first ones to try — let’s just hope it’s better than the one commercial with a Beyblade rap song.
Beyblade Live-Action Movie in the Works at Paramount
Look out, Transformers, there’s a new toy-inspired film franchise on its way. A new report has revealed that Jerry Bruckheimer is working with Paramount to develop a live-action Beyblade movie inspired by the Japanese spinning top toy line of the same name. Here’s what we know so far.
Beyblade toys launched in Japan in 1999
The Beyblade toy line dates back to 1999 when developer Takara released the toys in Japan. The idea of the game is for players to launch the Beyblade spinning tops into an area, often called a Beystadium, and attempt to knock each other out or stop the opponent’s spin. Various rules can affect the game, such as one player having only three Beyblades to choose from for battle.
The Beyblade line became very popular in the years following its initial release. Hasbro became licensed to sell Beyblade toys in 2002, bringing the products to the west. A few Beyblade toy reincarnations have launched since, including Beyblade Burst.
Jerry Bruckheimer and Paramount are developing a live-action ‘Beyblade’ movie
Deadline revealed that Bruckheimer, who has worked on films like Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure, recently signed on to produce a Beyblade movie for Paramount. Neil Widener and Gavin James are writing the script, but they have not yet revealed any plot details.
Plans for a Beyblade film date back to 2015, although the project hasn’t seen any developments until now. Deadline predicts that Paramount could explore an entire Beyblade franchise, given the popularity of the toys. It’s worth noting that Paramount also distributed the hit film Bumblebee, based on the Transformers toys and franchise.
According to Deadline, Bruckheimer currently has a few projects in the works at Paramount. The studio will soon release Top Gun: Maverick this summer. Meanwhile, he’s working on the Owen Wilson film Secret Headquarters and a TV adaptation of American Gigolo.