Pac-Man Movie From Justin Baldoni Now Doubtful Amid Blake Lively Lawsuit

As the legal battle between It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni continues, a new development regarding a certain yellow video game icon has surfaced. For the last few weeks, Baldoni, who directed and starred alongside Lively in the hit blockbuster film, has been in hot water regarding sexual harassment accusations and a smear campaign against the actress. Years before the film’s release, it was announced that Baldoni was set to direct and produce a live-action Pac-Man movie with Bandi Namco Entertainment, the company behind the infamous ’80s video game protagonist. While we have yet to see the character be the main star of its movie, it looks like Baldoni’s next project will not be coming anytime soon… or ever.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, confirmation that Baldoni direct the Pac-Man movie after years of development was allegedly made public in the hope that it would help him “move towards the future.” For context, the drama between the two co-stars began stirring during the press tour, with Baldoni not doing interviews or photos with other cast members. As the media began to put the pieces together, Baldoni decided to announce his Pac-Man project, which had been in development since 2022 with his production company Wayfarer Studios.

Justin Baldoni’s Live-Action Pac-Man Movie is Doubtful Amid Lively Lawsuit

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The Pac-Man project from Baldoni would’ve most likely taken the original concept of the yellow character chomping around a maze in pursuit of getting rid of ghosts and bringing them into the real world. The original idea for the movie was from Lightbeam Entertainment’s Chuck Williams, who is known for his producing work with the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog film. Williams was reportedly attached to produce the project alongside Knights of the Zodiac producer Tim Kwok. The movie also had Thor: Ragnarok writer Christopher Yost set to pen the script.

The trade went on to reveal that while it might seem unlikely that the live-action Pac-Man movie will be made, virtually every partner doing business with Bladoni’s Wayfarer is “having a conversation” about the future. At the moment, Bandi Namco has not responded to news regarding the project. The video game company previously lent its pixel-chomping icon in various Hollywood productions, with a small role in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph in 2012 and a more prominent part in the 2015 live-action movie Pixels.

As for where this project stands at the moment, the signs of life are looking pretty grim. After Lively filed a complaint on December 21st, Baldoni and Wayfarer were dropped by the Hollywood agency WME, which was their main source of helping them package their projects for financing from executive producers. Given Baldoni’s negative reputation in Hollywood, the likelihood of this project moving forward is doubtful. As legal documents are released constantly, the It Ends With Us director has made quite a stain within the entertainment industry with many failed attempts to win back his popularity, including the claim that Ryan Reynold based Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Nicepool on Baldoni himself.

It has been also reported that Baldoni has not only put his Pac-Man movie in doubt but two other projects he had in the works. The possibility of seeing a Pac-Man film might come eventually, as the potential is still there, but the chances of Baldoni being behind it very unlikely.