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Gaumont U.K. Buys Film and TV Rights to Interactive Game Series ‘Isklander’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Interactive game series “Isklander” is set for an on-screen adaptation.

Gaumont U.K. has optioned the film and TV rights to the alternate reality trilogy from London-based immersive entertainment company Swamp Motel.

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The three-part interactive game series — which comprises “Plymouth Point,” “The Mermaid’s Tongue” and “The Kindling Hour” — invites players to unleash their inner online detective as they enter a world of corporate deceit, occult horrors and shadowy cabals to uncover the murky underworld within high society.

Players can book a time to play each live episode, which is accessible via home computers, and can be played by 2-6 people. Teammates need to collaborate as they look for clues and crack codes and passwords to piece the story together.

The trilogy, which stars actor Dominic Monaghan (“Lost,” “Lord of the Rings”), has steadily drawn a robust fanbase, with more than 60,000 people across the U.K. and U.S. having played the games since the first instalment, “Plymouth Point,” launched in April 2020.

Gaumont U.K., the British arm of the French “Lupin” and “Narcos” producer, plans to adapt the story for a multi-part drama series. Development is led by executive producer and Gaumont U.K. CEO Alison Jackson (“Tin Star,” “Ashes to Ashes”), and senior development executive Jamie Jackson.

The digital story world was created by Swamp Motel writers, co-founders and creative directors Ollie Jones and Clem Garritty. Both creative associates of Punchdrunk and co-founders of the comedy theater company Kill the Beast, they created “Plymouth Point” in response to the closures of entertainment venues and theaters during the pandemic.

Gaumont U.K.’s Alison Jackson said: “From the moment our senior development executive Jamie Jackson played the first of the ‘Isklander’ trilogy and recommended it to the team, we could see its potential for adaptation. A breathtakingly paced thriller, with a fascinating conspiracy and heart-stopping twists at its centre, it feels exactly the sort of show we’re all desperate to watch at the moment, we’re thrilled to be partnering with such an exciting, forward-thinking company as Swamp Motel.”

Swamp Motel’s Clem Garritty and Ollie Jones added: “We’re so excited to collaborate with Gaumont U.K. Our online experiences were always more than just a trilogy. Together they’re a storyworld. There is so much scope to delve deeper into the world we’ve created and its characters. Adapting ‘Isklander’ for film and TV purposes provides the perfect opportunity to do just that. We see transmedia narratives as the really exciting future of original IP and we’re passionate about their development and the impact of storytelling on each platform. We’re thrilled Gaumont U.K. has spotted the same potential.”

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