A second orphan from Universal’s deal to develop feature films from toy maker Hasbro’s vast library of properties has perhaps found a new home.
Adam Sandler’s production shingle, Happy Madison, is currently in final talks to acquire the rights to a big screen feature based on the children’s board game Candy Land. The game had been one of several Hasbro properties that Universal Studios had been developing as part of a 2007 deal with the games manufacturer.
According to the press release issued today, Sandler is attached to star in the project and will likely co-write the screenplay with Robert Smigel. Kevin Lima is set to direct, a holdover from when Universal was developing the project. It does sound however, that with Sandler and Smigel taking on scripting duties, the original screenplay by Etan Cohen and further worked on by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger which had been grandiosely described as “The Lord Of The Rings but in a land made of candy” has probably been trashed in favor of a more comedic take.
