In a time when game adaptations are the go-to for Hollywood, the first Tetris trailer strives to carve its own path. Released by Apple TV, the trailer features car chases, espionage, and a whole bunch of pixels. Based on the true story of how the popular puzzle game came to fruition, the upcoming film doesn’t come across as an average video game movie. The trailer also reveals that the film premieres on Apple TV on March 31, 2023.
Apple TV Plus' Tetris stars Taron Egerton as the American video game salesman Henk Rogers, who is known for securing the global distribution rights for Alexey Pajitnov's classic Tetris puzzle game. Based on the Tetris trailer, the film will follow his journey from discovering the game to negotiating with the Soviet regime over its global distribution. While some sequences are dramatically exaggerated, it would still make for an interesting watch to learn the history of the game that took the world by storm.
Set to the iconic tune "The Final Countdown" by Swedish rock band Europe, the trailer begins with Egerton's Rogers discovering Tetris. After playing it for five minutes, he is convinced that it is “the most beautiful thing that [he] has ever seen.” The game is simple: players must complete lines by moving differently-shaped bricks slowly descending on their screens into position. But, Rogers thought it was “art and math all working in magical synchronicity,” eventually making it “the perfect game.” He then explains the game to several investors before coming across Nintendo's mighty Game Boy. However, to release the game, he must first obtain the rights from the Soviet Union.
Egerton's Rogers then travels to Moscow for his mission, and he is ready for all the bumps in the road. This is when the film gets interesting because guns, armored tanks, explosions, and high-speed car chases are introduced into the Tetris trailer. Based on the official synopsis of the upcoming film, Tetris is “a Cold War–era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes, and a nail-biting race to the finish.” Apart from Egerton's Rogers, the film includes other key figures such as Tetris designer Pajitnov, played by Russian actor Nikita Efremov, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, played by Togo Igawa, and Soviet Union head Mikhail Gorbachev, played by Matthew Marsh.
Tetris is referred to by many as the world’s most popular game to date. It was one of the first games featured in the World Video Game Hall of Fame. This isn’t the first time the game is featured in a movie, as it played a big role in the 2015 film Pixels. An epic sci-fi Tetris film adaptation was announced at one point, but the project never saw the light of day. The upcoming film is the first time the game’s history is being explored in detail.
Tetris is scheduled to premiere on Apple TV Plus on March 31, 2023.
Source: Apple TV/YouTube