"Uh, Super Mario..."
"Let's talk about that later."
"What about Pokémon?"
"Hmm... I can consider that."
"Great! I can imdiately arrange the top writers and production team—"
"Can you imagine what a live-action Pokémon would actually look like?"
"Well... I guess it'd just be presenting all the Pokémon in higher-definition 3D, and then, like you said, staying true to the original."
"How exactly do you stay true to the original? The ga's story is basically just battling and leveling up, then going from gym to gym until you beco the top trainer. There's almost no real story in that whole process."
"Now that you ntion it... that's true."
...
...
All in all, Tokarev was a trusted friend, and their collaboration had always gone smoothly.
Takayuki thought for a mont, then said,"Let recomnd you a few projects. Gas like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon are actually difficult to adapt into film or TV. I need you to respect the feelings of the players. These gas often have very simple stories, and without truly outstanding writers and directors, it's nearly impossible to do a good job."
Before Takayuki crossed over to this world, Mario only had one very old live-action movie adaptation.
But aside from being called Super Mario Bros., that movie was completely off the mark. It was, frankly, trash.
Before crossing over, Takayuki had heard that Nintendo was planning a Mario animated movie, but he never got to see it before he arrived in this world—so he didn't know if it eventually succeeded.
However, he did rember the live-action adaptation of Pokémon, which was the first ti the series was portrayed with real actors.
That movie didn't focus on a Pokémon trainer as the protagonist but was instead based on the spin-off ga Detective Pikachu. It was a clever workaround. If it flopped, they could always say it was just a side story. If it succeeded, then it ant the format had potential.
That movie turned out to be... just okay.
When it seed like Takayuki might finally give in and offer so IPs, Tokarev imdiately perked up.
"Takayuki, whatever project you're offering—as long as it has a strong following—I promise to give it my all and stay true to the original."
Takayuki shrugged and said,"How about adapting GTA: Liberty Chapter into a TV series? Focus on Niko, the illegal immigrant from Eastern Europe. That could easily be stretched into two or three seasons. What do you think?"
"A TV series, huh..."
Tokarev looked a little disappointed.
Not because he looked down on TV—he just preferred film, where he was more experienced and connected.
Still, GTA was riding a wave of popularity lately.
He'd played it himself and had been deeply moved by Niko's story.
He even felt like Niko was a reflection of himself.
After all, Tokarev was also an immigrant—originally Russian—and had co to Arica hoping to build a future.
If Takayuki hadn't helped him during his most desperate mont, when his Starsea Infinite film series blew up in popularity, he'd probably have returned to Russia with his tail between his legs, forced to take over the family business doing sothing he hated, forever trapped under the shadow of his elders.
But now, he had his own thriving career.
Maybe, if Niko had soone like Takayuki to help him, his life could've turned out completely different too.
Tokarev felt a deep personal connection to Niko.
Takayuki continued,"Of course, just giving you GTA: Liberty Chapter isn't worth much discussion. I'll also authorize you to adapt Assassin's Creed and tal Gear Solid. I only have one requirent—stay faithful to the original. Focus on pleasing the players first, and only then think about broader appeal."
In his previous life, Takayuki had seen too many adaptations butcher their source material—disappointing everyone.
He would rather satisfy the fans only, unless a truly top-tier director and writer could deliver sothing exceptional. In that case, he might consider giving more creative freedom.
The mont Tokarev heard that Assassin's Creed and tal Gear Solid were also on the table, he bead with joy.
"No problem! So, should these be series too?"
"That's for you to decide. I won't micromanage. Just don't ruin the players' image of these franchises."
"You have my word!" Tokarev said, pounding his chest.
He was already painting a massive vision in his mind.
"Oh right," he added, "I suddenly rembered another idea that might be interesting. Not sure if you'd be interested."
As soon as IP licensing ca up, Takayuki rembered a particularly iconic film from his past life.
That movie was a beautiful fusion of countless elents. An elderly filmmaker in his seventies had masterfully combined everything young people loved into one exhilarating world and story.
At this mont, Takayuki felt it might really work here.
"Tell about it," Tokarev said.
"The idea's actually pretty simple: an IP crossover."
"An IP crossover?"
Takayuki smiled."Like you said, I'm sitting on a goldmine of IPs. It would be a sha to let them go to waste. But sotis I worry that if I don't use them properly, I'll lose the trust of my core players. So instead of adapting each IP individually, why not do sothing more fun?"
"Like what, exactly?"
"I want to call it Ready Player One. As the na suggests, it's about the top-tier gar—the ultimate player—who dives into countless familiar video ga worlds, competing for sothing within them. The film could be packed with endless video ga elents."
Tokarev blinked.
He still wasn't sure he fully understood...But for so reason, it really did sound kind of exciting.
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