Netflix is developing a live-action series based on PUBG: Battlegrounds, with Donald Glover attached to write, direct, executive produce and star. The project was announced on 29 October and is at the development stage, not in production.
There is no release date, episode count or cast beyond Glover. Netflix is an established service in Pakistan, but it has not said anything about when or where this title will stream.
Who is attached
Stephen Glover joins as a writer and executive producer. Michael Schaefer of NEON, Fam Udeorji of Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee of LV3H, Krafton’s entertainment arm, are also executive producers. In Netflix’s announcement, quoted by Gizmodo, the company calls PUBG “a global cultural icon with seven Guinness World Records” and describes LV3H as involved in development and production as Krafton moves the franchise into original screen content.
Why Glover, and why PUBG
Glover is best known for Atlanta and Community, and has won two Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes. Taking on the writing, directing and lead role at once puts the show’s tone largely in his hands, which matters for a game with no fixed story to adapt. PUBG is a battle royale: players land on a map, scavenge weapons and fight until one is left. That gives a screenwriter a setting and a premise but no cast of characters, so the series will have to invent its own. Netflix and Krafton have said nothing yet about plot, setting or whether the show will be a drama, a thriller or a comedy.
An older PUBG show that named no platform
This is not Krafton’s first attempt at a screen version. In July 2021 the company said it had signed Castlevania producer Adi Shankar to create and showrun an animated PUBG project. That announcement named no streaming platform, and we have seen no update on it since, so the live-action series should not be confused with it.
Netflix in Pakistan
Netflix’s help centre lists Pakistani plans from Rs. 250 a month (mobile) to Rs. 1,100 (Premium), so a Pakistani subscriber would not need a new service to watch the series once it exists. Whether it launches worldwide on one day is for Netflix to say.
Any date for the series will come from Netflix or Krafton, and we will cover it as its own story when it arrives.
