Just three years after making his acting debut with a voice role in Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, Grammy nominee Lil Yachty might have found his biggest starring role yet with Mattel’s live-action adaptation of hit card game UNO in the works, according to Deadline.
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“I’m so excited to be part of this film with Mattel,” Yachty said in a statement. “I played UNO as a kid and still do today, so to spin that into a movie based on the Atlanta hip hop scene I came out of is really special. It hits close to home for me.”
While exact plot details are currently being kept under wraps, the film is said to be set in the underground hip hop world of Atlanta and is being described as a heist comedy with Marcy Kelly penning the script in her feature debut.
“At Mattel Films, we are looking to explore stories that bring our brands to life in unexpected ways,” Robbie Brenner, executive producer and Head of Mattel Films, said in a statement. “UNO is a game that transcends generations and cultures and we look forwards to partnering with Lil Yachty, as well as with Coach K and Brian Sher, to transform the classic UNO game into a comedic action adventure.”
Should their deal go through, Yachty will produce the film alongside Mattel and Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Pierre “P” Thomas and Brian Sher for Quality Films, while Brenner will executive produce and Kevin McKeon will act as supervising producer and lead on the Mattel Films project.
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The UNO project marks the latest in the works at the studio based on their various properties, with others including: a live-action American Girl and View-Master at MGM, the long-in-development Barbie at Warner Bros. with Margot Robbie set to star and co-produce and Greta Gerwig in talks to direct and set to co-write with Noah Baumbach, the similarly ever-gestating Masters of the Universe at Sony with Noah Centineo set to star, a live-action Hot Wheels at Warner Bros., a Magic 8-Ball movie at Blumhouse, a Wishbone film at Universal, a live-action Barney film with Daniel Kaluuya producing and a Thomas & Friends film with Marc Foster set to direct.
(Photo Credit: Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Gamers’ Choice Awards)
