Stray took over the video game world, and now the cat-focused experience is heading to the world of animation as it was announced today that a film adaptation from Annapurna Animation is in the works, becoming the studio’s second animated project following this year’s overlooked release Nimona.
As revealed by Entertainment Weekly, “multiple projects are now in the works as key creative positions have been put in place, including a new project from Nimona co-director Nick Bruno and the next title from Ice Age director Chris Wedge.”
The outlet notes that first up among these projects is the adaptation of Stray, the award-winning adventure game from the developers at BlueTwelve Studio. The game puts the player in control of a stealthy cat, who must sneakily traverse through a neon-filled underground city populated by mischievous robots and mutant bacteria. Helping out the titular stray cat is a friendly drone, B-12.
Released in the summer of 2023, the game would later receive accolades at The Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, and Golden Joystick Awards, as well as appearing on multiple publications’ year-end lists.
Per EW, Robert Baird, who leads Annapurna Animation with Andrew Millstein, opened up about the project during an interview back in August.
“This is a game that’s all about what makes us human, and there are no humans in it,” he says. “It’s a buddy comedy about a cat and a robot, and there’s such a hilarious dynamic. So, there’s comedy inherent in this, but there’s not one human being in this movie. I think it’s one of the reasons why the game was incredibly popular that you are seeing the world through the point of view of an adorable cat. How did they pull that off, and how are we going to pull that off in the movie? We will, even though sometimes it feels impossible, but we know that’s the essence of the game and the key to telling the story.”
While there’s no set release date, EW notes Stray is in active development.
