Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Catan’ Movie Just Took a Big Step Forward

When Netflix secured the rights to the hugely popular board game series, Catan, everyone had the same question: “How the heck do you make a movie out of this?” Well, we don’t know quite yet, but we now know who’ll be answering the question. Brothers Aaron and Adam Nee have just signed on to write and direct the Catan movie for the streamer. Deadline broke the news of the deal, though there’s no word on what take the Nees will have on the material. Catan, if you don’t know, is a game in which players compete to build the most successful settlement on a deserted island. It’s sold over 45 million copies to date and has become highly adaptable into various different genres. Last year, Netflix secured the rights to the property with the ability to make live-action films, animated films, scripted TV shows, and even unscripted shows and video games. Basically, anything. And some of those mediums make sense in the world of Catan. Others do not. But the first one seems as if it’s going to be that live-action movie from the Nees. The brothers most recently co-wrote the script for Travis Knight’s Masters of the Universe film and directed The Lost City starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. They also worked behind the scenes, doing uncredited work on Warner Bros.’ Minecraft movie. And so if you take that work with popular, non-narrative games, a major IP, and island-based adventures, it all kind of feels like there’s a cross-section somewhere into a Catan movie, right? Maybe this is the perfect filmmaking combo to answer that eternal question: What, exactly, is a Catan movie? Want more io9 news? Check out the best movies and TV shows to stream this month and all the upcoming sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books that should be on your radar.