Rabbids movie coming from Ubisoft and Sony Pictures

By Adam Rosenberg Published February 10, 2014

mario rabbids kingdom battle report — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ubisoft’s Rabbids, the adorably evil bunnies at the heart of the publisher’s Rayman Raving Rabbids series, are set to star in a feature-length motion picture of their very own. The news comes via press release, which confirms that Ubisoft Motion Pictures will partner with Sony Pictures Entertainment on the project.

“Sony Pictures has tremendous experience developing hybrid live-action-and-animated blockbusters for audiences around the world, which makes them a natural fit for what we want to achieve with a Rabbids film,” UMP executive director Jean-Julien Baronnet said in a prepared statement. “This deal deepens our partnership with Sony Pictures and highlights our holistic approach to bringing Ubisoft’s brands to new audiences while still maintaining the brands’ creative integrity.”

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The diabolical bunny rabbits are already the stars of their own Nickelodeon animated TV series, Rabbids Invasion. The show launched in August 2013 and its first season finale is set to air this year. It’s already been renewed for a second season, which will kick off sometime in mid-2014.

There’s no word on when the movie might be coming or what kind of story it is meant to tell, but Ubisoft Motion Pictures will “actively participate in the film’s production.” It’s one of many video game properties that is currently either being developed or in active production by Hollywood. We’ve been keeping a running tally if you want to know what else is out there.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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Gran Turismo isn’t very good, but I want more movies like it

Archie Madekwe looks at David Harbour in Gran Turismo.

I watched the Gran Turismo movie and didn’t think it was very good. Still, I want more video game-related films that are just like it.

Let me explain. For other creative mediums like film and literature, biographical films, documentaries, and TV shows about the people who make or are impacted by them are more common. Films and TV shows like Ed Wood, The Disaster Artist, Tolkien, The Offer, and more come to mind. However, the video game industry did not get that same treatment until very recently. For a long time, referring to a video game movie or TV show meant that you were referring to a film that adapts the story or world of a popular game. That is beginning to change.

Gaming

Rayman returns in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC later this month

Rayman, Rabbid Mario, and Rabbid Peach in Mario + Rabbid Sparks of Hope: Rayman in the Phantom Show

Ubisoft is finally bringing Rayman back as part of a new piece of DLC for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope later this month. Called Rayman in the Phantom Show, this DLC releases on August 30.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope - DLC 3 Reveal Trailer
For a long time, Rayman was Ubisoft's premier mascot and starred in a series of platformers that people who grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s remember fondly. Unfortunately, Ubisoft's focus has primarily been on more mature series like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Watch_Dogs as well as the Rabbids (which spun off from a Rayman game) over the last decade, so Rayman took a back seat to those series following the launch of Rayman Legends. That's why Rayman in the Phantom Show is a big deal for fans of this dormant franchise; it's the most prominent role Rayman has had in a console game in almost a decade.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a turn-based strategy game that launched on Nintendo Switch to critical acclaim last year. This latest (and final) piece of post-launch DLC for the game follows Rayman, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Mario as they take on the Phantom -- a boss from Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle -- in an otherworldly TV studio called the Space Opera Network. David Gasman, who voiced the titular character in Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, reprises his role here.

It's not a full-on platformer, but the reveal trailer for the DLC does show how players can use Rayman's detachable limbs and helicopter ability to explore the Space Opera network. At least it's something that looks pretty entertaining for fans of classic Rayman, who Ubisoft hasn't appealed to in quite a long time. Hopefully, it's as good as Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle's excellent Donkey Kong DLC.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Rayman in the Phantom Show comes out on August 30, and it can be purchased individually or as part of Spark of Hope's season pass.

Gaming

Surprise! Ubisoft delays Skull and Bones yet again

A pirate in Skull & Bones

The oft-delayed Skull and Bones still isn't ready for release, as Ubisoft confirmed it has delayed the pirate game for the sixth time. Skull and Bones will no longer release on March 9, and now just has a vague release window of "early 2023 to 2024." At this point, we can't really be surprised that this happened again.
First announced at E3 2017, Skull and Bones was initially intended for release in 2018. It finally resurfaced last year after a couple of delays with a November 8, 2022 release date. That morphed into a March 9, 2023 release date, which Ubisoft has now nixed for a vague release window that basically amounts to them wanting to release Skull and Bones sometime this fiscal year. Still, Ubisoft seems optimistic about the pirate game despite its never-ending string of delays.
"Players will be able to discover the beauty of Skull and Bones in the upcoming beta phase," a press release explains. "The additional time has already paid off and brought impressive improvements to its quality, which has been confirmed by recent playtests. We believe players will be positively surprised by its evolution. We have decided to postpone its release in order to have more time to showcase a much more polished and balanced experience and to build awareness."
This delay announcement comes as part of a larger update to the company's financial targets for this fiscal year and next, where Ubisoft detailed the negative impacts of "surprisingly slower" game sales for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023. Not only has Skull and Bones been delayed, but Ubisoft has also canceled three unannounced games that were in development atits various studios. Ubisoft's "recent launches have not performed as well as expected," so the company is focusing its efforts "on building our brands and live services into some of the most powerful within the industry." Ubisoft will also reduce its spending by 200 million euros over the next two years.
Thankfully for Ubisoft, its next fiscal year, which runs through March 2024, looks a lot more interesting thanks to games like Assassin's Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Now we just have to wait and see if Skull and Bones will also be part of that, or if it continues to get delayed.