The beloved 1983 film WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick as a young hacker who almost causes a supercomputer to start a nuclear holocaust, was made during a time when it was impossible to imagine how much technology would become a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives. That’s why next year MGM and the interactive entertainment company Eko will re-imagine the classic film as an all new series for an all new world. And the show’s ominous first trailer promises a different kind of viewing experience befitting the terrifying advancements we’ve made since the film was made, because this time you’ll help determine what happens.
The new #WarGames, slated for release in early 2018, will put “viewers in the middle of a thrilling tale of modern espionage, hacking, and government conspiracy” by allowing the people watching to influence how the story of a group of young computer hackers unfolds. They’re led by Kelly, who the show’s creator Sam Berlow (Her Story) says, “Represents the breadth of modern hacker culture and its humanity.”
“With #WarGames I was thrilled to take the questions raised by the original movie and ask them again in a world where technology has fundamentally changed our lives,” said Berlow, “To do that interactively felt like a perfect marriage of form and content.”
It’s not yet clear exactly how viewers will get to “play the game” and shape what happens, but this isn’t the first time Eko has worked on a series like this. They have previously teamed up with Sony for the interactive comedy That Moment When, which you can watch here.
Computers might have seemed scary in 1983, but in today’s world, where an anonymous hacker can access a computer anywhere in the world and ruin billions of lives without even firing a missile, isn’t any safer.
But we still want to play the game.
Will you influence the story to help or hurt the hackers of #WarGames? Access our comments below and tell us what you plan to do.
Images: MGM/Eko
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