An Oregon Trail Film Adaptation Currently In "Early Development" At Apple

Apple has been developing some incredible original film and television content for its Apple TV+ streaming service since its launch in November 2019. This includes the Emmy-winning series Ted Lasso and Slow Horses and Oscar-nominated films like Killer of the Flower Moon and CODA, the latter of which won a few Oscars back in 2022.

With a few films awaiting its theatrical (and subsequent Apple TV+) release, a few are in development, one being a film adaptation of the Oregon Trail video game. The news was recently made by American entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter (THR), which stated that the Oregan Trail film adaptation is in "early development" at the streaming service.

Based on the initial reporting made by THR, Christmas Office Party and Blades of Glory directing duo Will Speck and Josh Gordon are revealed to be at the helm of the project as directors and producers. Composers and lyricists duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul signed to the project to "provide original music and produce" through their production studio, Ampersand.

Oregon Trail is a series of educational video games that was first released for minicomputers in 1971, with its last and most recent entry dating back to 2021 exclusively for the Apple Arcade service before heading to consoles and PCs from 2022 onwards. Following the original Oregon Trail release, it developed quite the cult status among American students during the 90s before it was integrated into American schools despite the game's grim and bleak narrative and themes and the now iconic phrase "You have died of dysentery" which has entered popular culture and lexicon.

Furthermore, THR's reporting revealed that the Oregon Trail video game series rights are with American publishing company HarperCollins, who have been working with Apple to develop the film adaptation. It's likely that the film will also be produced under the HarperCollins Productions banner, for which THR confirmed Caroline Fraser and Kevin K. Vafi will be listed as producers.