Adam Sandler Travels to Candy Land
Posted 02.01.12 by Ryan
Earlier this month, Adam Sandler made a surprising decision to make his first sequel — reuniting with David Spade, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and Kevin James for a follow-up to 2010's Grown Ups. Now Sandler will adapt his first board game.
Deadline reports that Sandler is attached to star in Candy Land, based on the Hasbro board game created in 1949. "Candy Land is more than just a game," said Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad in a statement.
It is a brand that children, parents and grandparents know and love. The world of Candy Land offers an extraordinary canvas upon which to create a fantastical, live-action family adventure film with a larger than life part for Adam. We are thrilled to partner with Hasbro and Happy Madison on this project.
What part Sandler will play is unknown, though that decision is likely up to him and Robert Smigel (You Don't Mess With the Zohan), who will write the Candy Land script for director Kevin Lima (Enchanted). Lima has been with the project since 2009, when Universal was developing the adaptation. Universal, who will release an adaptation of Hasbro's Battleship this summer, also recently saw the live-action adaptation of Stretch Armstrong, based on the Hasbro toy, move to Relativity Media this week. Sony/Columbia is also working with Hasbro on an adaptation of the board game Risk.
No release date was set for Candy Land, and whether the adaptation ends up on Sandler's 2013 slate remains to be seen. Sandler is set to appear with Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) in the father-son comedy Donny's Boy this summer, and will provide the voice of Dracula for Sony Pictures Animation's Hotel Transylvania this fall. Grown Ups 2 is being targeted for a July 12, 2013, release date, and Candy Land could end up in the later part of 2013.