One of the most popular and unique games of the past 25 years is finally getting brought to the big screen, and my only shock is it hasn't happened sooner. A movie based on The Sims is moving forward, and the only better news than that is they already snagged the perfect actress to lead it. Margot Robbie is involved with it, and I'm pretty jazzed to be learning that.
The project hails from LuckyChap, according to THR, the production company owned by Robbie and others, and which was also responsible for Saltburn and the record-setting box office hit Barbie. While the latter film didn't blow away the academy at The Oscars, Ryan Gosling's powerful performance with peak Ken-ergy brought the house down and showed everyone the real winner of the award season.
While it's unclear if Margot Robbie is stepping up as the star of The Sims movie, it's also worth noting that Kate Herron is directing, who readers might know for her work in Loki Season 1. Herron guided Loki to being the most-watched show on Disney+, a trend which continued and set records in Season 2.
For those unfamiliar, The Sims started off as a life-simulation computer game in which players created their own "Sims," whom they could then control and care for in a home that they created. As such, this movie could literally be about anything, though I think it would be entertaining to riff on the limitations of The Sims and possibly the idea they're being controlled by someone.
Sims can do just about everything regular humans do, but I think it's fair to say the world they live in is a bit stranger. It's the kind of world where someone will get a phone call and learn they won $500 or get killed by a falling asteroid. There's also a lot of common weirdness players exhibit in when playing, and I'm just going to hope there isn't a room full of fireplaces and one piece of flammable furniture in this movie.
If there is one worry I have about The Sims movie and Margot Robbie's involvement, it'll be the comparisons to Barbie, assuming she does indeed star. There are aspects of The Sims that can be naturally compared. This movie may have to do some work to stand apart from audiences, and even with all of that, I don't think it'll completely escape comparison. Is that enough of a reason to rethink Robbie as the star of the movie? Hell no, she's one of Hollywood's most in-demand actresses, and may even be the reason people who know nothing about the game buy a ticket. And hey, maybe comparisons to Barbie aren't a bad thing considering we may never get a Barbie 2.
No release date exists yet for The Sims movie, but I can assure readers there are a few people at CinemaBlend psyched for this movie. Continue to check in as we learn more about this exciting project, which could be as lucrative for Margot Robbie as her role in Barbie was.