The Oregon Trail video game will now see an unusual resurgence thanks to a musical adaptation of the film. The Oregon Trail was originally conceived as an educational video game series in 1971. The game started to rise in popularity, especially in the 1990s. It remained popular into the early 2000s, played on home computers or school desktops. The Oregon Trail is still followed today by memes of its classic lines.
The purpose of The Oregon Trail is simple. The protagonist is a 19th century wagon leader who leads settlers through Missouri to Oregon. During their journey, they will encounter various obstacles, including passage through water, bad weather, attackers and disease. The Oregon Trail became known for his bluntness in his factual accuracy with regard to the threats of disease in the period. Settlement members can and will die, and when they do, clear lines like “You died of dysentery” flash on the screen.
According to Collider, The Oregon Trail is now being developed into a film musical. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile directing team Josh Gordon and Will Speck tell the outlet they already have a plan. Gordon and Speck share a love for The Oregon Trail featuring superstar songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The four creators decided they wanted to collaborate to create a musically infused adaptation of the educational game. Gordon and Speck want the comedic potential of The Oregon Trailand can make the movie PG-13 or R rated to set a good tone with the audience.
Can a Musical Oregon Trail Work?
Gordon and Speck are no strangers to the music genre. The directing duo recently made the adaptation of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which will hit theaters later this week. A musical adaptation of The Oregon Trail, however, would be a very different ball game, especially in the way Gordon and Speck describe it. unlike Lyle, Lyle, Crocodilea family-friendly, PG-rated children’s book adaptation, The Oregon Trail‘s PG-13 or even R rating would cause it to deviate significantly from the content of the original source material.
This is not necessarily a bad approximation of a Oregon Trail adjustment however. Although it is possible to play The Oregon Trail on some sites online today, the game is largely obsolete in its original form. The former players are now mostly in their thirties and forties. An ironic, almost satirical approach to an adaptation of The Oregon Trail could be a fantastic move for Gordon and Speck. They also have two great songwriters in their corner with Pasek and Paul, the creative team behind projects like The greatest showman and Dear Evan Hansen. They have won numerous awards for their collaborative work in songwriting for both film and stage. With this team of Oregon Trail aficionados uniting, perhaps an adaptation of the much-adored video game can gain as much cult following as the game itself.
Source: Collider
