Monopoly Movie Passes Go, With Producer Margot Robbie Hoping To Replicate That Barbie Magic

It's Margot Robbie's world and we're just living in it, folks. The actor-turned-producer is flying high after her work both in front of the camera and behind the scenes of "Barbie," teaming up with director Greta Gerwig to turn what many assumed would be some soulless corporate product into a bona fide sensation. Between that and her star-making performances in recent years, she's pretty much had her pick of the litter in Hollywood. And now, she's using her well-earned clout to take on another major production that most have remained skeptical of: a movie based on the popular board game Monopoly.

/Film's Ryan Scott is currently on the ground at this year's CinemaCon event and was in attendance of the Lionsgate panel, where they announced that "Monopoly" will, indeed, pass Go as the studio is joining forces with Robbie's LuckyChap production company (along with Hasbro Entertainment, of course) to make this far-fetched concept into a reality. The live-action feature has been inching closer and closer to the finish line over the last few years, first with the reports in 2019 indicating that star Kevin Hart would take on the lead role while filmmaker Tim Story directed the film. Things stalled out after that (likely on account of that whole pandemic we've been living through, not to mention the writer and actor strikes that followed), but we subsequently got the scoop directly from Story in June of last year that the film remained in some level of development.

Well, turns out Lionsgate was just waiting to unleash the news at their buzzy panel in Las Vegas. More details below!

What a time to be alive. A "Monopoly" movie is officially in the works and not a single person outside of Lionsgate knows what it could possibly look like. Much like "Barbie," the studio is banking on the potential of Margot Robbie's collaboration and a uniquely creative vision to help bring this IP to life — in a way that makes sense as a narrative, of course. It's clear that everyone involved is banking lightning striking twice, given that Robbie and LuckyChap were at the center of the "Barbie" phenomenon, which faced similar types of obstacles. The news was announced at CinemaCon by Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson, who neglected to reveal many more details but, according to Variety, did note that LuckyChap have "a clear point of view" on the project. He went on to say:

"I could not imagine a better production team for this beloved and iconic brand than LuckyChap. They are exceptional producers who choose their projects with great thought and care, and join 'Monopoly' with a clear point of view. We are tremendously excited to be working with the entire LuckyChap team on what we all believe can be their next blockbuster."

There was no word on whether either Kevin Hart or Tim Story remained attached to the film, leaving us with more questions than answers. Stay tuned to /Film for any and all updates as they come in!