‘The Only People Not Involved Are the Creators,’ Life Is Strange Writer Says of Amazon TV Adaptation
Amazon’s announcement of a Life is Strange TV adaptation has prompted the video game’s original writer Christian Divine to comment that “the only people not involved are the creators.”
Divine served as lead writer on Life is Strange, which was created by French studio Don’t Nod back in 2015. The narrative adventure launched to a warm response and earned itself a loyal fan audience, prompting Divine to return for the game’s 2019 sequel.
But no mention was made of Divine or anyone else who worked on the original game in Amazon’s announcement last week, which instead noted that the adaptation would be produced by Square Enix, the publisher and rights owner of the Life is Strange franchise, as well as LuckyChap, a film and TV production company co-founded by Margot Robbie, and Story Kitchen, a company that describes itself as one that “specializes in Franchise Farming™ — adapting video games and other ‘non-traditional’ IPs into film and TV.”
Indeed, Amazon’s Life is Strange TV series press release makes no mention of Don’t Nod at all, despite discussing the studio’s fan-favorite main characters Max and Chloe, and its beloved setting of Arcadia Bay. Instead, the release spends most of its time focused on the involvement of The End of the F***ing World’s Charlie Covell as creator and showrunner.
Divine’s comment seemingly confirms that Don’t Nod is not involved in the adaptation at all, and the writer isn’t the only former Life is Strange staff member to take note. “Seeing the game created by @DONTNOD_Michel, @RaoulBarbet, Jean-Luc Cano, and our @DONTNOD_Ent team becoming a show is an incredible honor!” Don’t Nod studio executive producer Luc Baghadoust wrote separately on social media, highlighting other key creatives behind Life is Strange.
While a straightforward message, the fact Baghadoust chose to specifically highlight more of those responsible for the original game has raised a few eyebrows among fans, following the lack of acknowledgement towards Don’t Nod by Amazon and Square Enix. (Despite being tagged, neither studio creative director Michel Koch or Life is Strange director Raoul Barbet have commented on the series’ announcement so far.)
On the one hand, Don’t Nod and publisher Square Enix parted ways rather publicly after the launch of Life is Strange 2, with the former team re-establishing itself as Don’t Nod Montreal to work on the similar Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Square Enix, which has always owned the Life is Strange IP, has meanwhile continued the franchise on with multiple games developed by Deck Nine Games, to mixed success.
But despite the original Life is Strange now being a decade old, and Don’t Nod long having left the series’ behind, many fans have commented on the lack of involvement or mention of the franchise’s creators as odd, or discouraging.
“When it comes to adapting narrative-based games, someone from the game developer should be there,” Life is Strange fan mirracz wrote on reddit, in a lengthy thread of opinions sparked by Divine’s post. “If not as a writer, then at least as a consultant.”
“I agree with that principle,” added another fan, EdenH333. “Creators of adaptations should talk to the original creators when possible to get insight on the project. But as a rule, Hollywood doesn’t do this, and that isn’t necessarily a death knell for a project.
“I don’t remember Fallout’s original creators being part of the Fallout TV show yet that turned out amazing,” argued MagnusGallant23. “Both are Amazon MGM Studios.”
“This series will piss off people regardless,” concluded a fourth fan, alihou. “If there’s one thing I’ve noticed with this fan base, they’re quick to complain. They’re very protective of this property and even slight deviations in the story will get a negative reaction.”
Amazon’s Life is Strange TV series looks set to follow the events of the original game closely, although fans have questioned how the adaptation will handle its choose-your-own-adventure-style gameplay, and particularly its multiple endings.
“For years we’ve had so many people asking us to create a Life is Strange TV show,” Square Enix External Studios bosses Jon Brooke and Lee Singleton said last week, “and we’re so pleased to finally partner with Amazon MGM Studios who we trust will do an incredible job bringing our universe to life.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
