Adam Sandler is set to star in Chris Columbus’ big-budget Sony movie “Pixels,” while Kevin James and Josh Gad are in early talks to join the comedy superstar, though other actors remain in the mix, an individual familiar with the project has told the popular entertainment site TheWrap
Sandler’s “Just Go With It” co-star Jennifer Aniston has been courted for the female lead and not only is she a fan of the script, but there was mutual interest in having her reteam with Sandler.
Tim Herlihy wrote the first draft of “Pixels” though it was Sandler’s “Just Go With It” scribe Tim Dowling whose draft enticed Sandler and Columbus to sign on. While Herlihy’s script was in line with Happy Madison’s unique brand of humor, the studio wanted more of a tentpole-sized action-comedy in the vein of “Ghostbusters,” so Dowling was tasked with making the project a bit bigger and broader in scope.
“Pixels” is an adaptation of writer-director Patrick Jean’s buzzed-about short film, which depicted popular 1980s video game characters attacking New York City.