Sim-ply unfilmable? Inside The Sims movie that never was

In 2007, a big-screen version of the hit video game was announced, but it languished in development limbo. What happened, and what does it mean for Margot Robbie's new adaptation?

When the news came out that Margot Robbie is set to produce a movie based on the iconic life-simulation video game, The Sims, many people's first response was: How the heck do you make a movie out of The Sims?" It may be one of the bestselling game series of all time but, crucially, it doesn't really have any plot to work with. The entire point is that it's a sandbox life sim, and players can do whatever they want.

This has all happened before. In 2007, it was announced that a movie based on The Sims was coming to the big screen, with what was then 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) acquiring the rights. It was written by Brian Lynch, who has become the Hollywood screenwriter of choice for some of the past decade's biggest and most critically acclaimed family animations, including Puss in Boots (2011), Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), and The Secret Life of Pets movies.