risk logoShhh… If you listen carefully you can hear across the sound of fingernails scratching the bottom of the film barrel.

Sony Pictures announced they have bought the rights to the world conquest board game Risk from Hasbro and intend to bring “an action-packed, thrilling story are what will make this a uniquely exciting movie” according to Deadline Hollywood who quoted president of Columbia Pictures Doug Belgrad.

Belgrad points out that the success of G.I. Joe and Transformers suggests that film adaptations of popular franchises implies that a Risk movie is a viable option. I’ve no doubt that creative minds exist within the studio system that can turn a shopping list into an Oscar winner but it seems that unless you’re making Clue (and casting the sublime Tim Curry in your movie), transitioning from the medium of a board game to a film makes for a tough path.

I’ve written an article for this site before on the future of Board Game movies – take a look here, and weep for the future of our beloved industry.