Universal to Exploit "Asteroids" Next

Universal Studios just won an intense bidding war for the rights to make a movie based on the classic arcade game "Asteroids," reports Entertainment Weekly.

"Asteroids" was the 1979 Atari video game where you controlled a little triangle that shot dots at straight-line rocks and flying saucers until you died. How Universal plans to make a movie out of that premise is anyone's guess.

According to USA Today, there was even talk of a film an adaptation of "Pac-Man," another well-known retro video game.

Sony and Fox were both losers in the bidding war for the rights to this movie, writes Variety. Universal is working with Matt Lopez and Lorenzo di Bonaventura to make "Asteroids," with Lopez on the script. Di Bonaventura is known for his work in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and the upcoming "G. I. Joe" movie.

Since the video game has no plot or characters, the movie adaptation could look like just about anything. But with di Bonaventura as its head producer, it should take a few hundred million dollars to make.