Lil Yachty Developing Heist Movie Based On The Card Game UNO
Despite essentially rebranding as a Detroit rapper last year, it seems Lil Yachty has gone Hollywood. Last fall the Atlanta native announced that Public Figures, the loosely autobiographical dramedy series he’d been developing for the doomed streaming service Quibi, was now in the works for HBO Max. Yachty is starring in the show, which will be the first scripted project from his record label Quality Control’s offshoot TV division Quality Films, and reportedly follows “a group of friends in NYC and their comedic pursuit of becoming influencers.” Given that he’s still out there releasing new music at a steady clip, that’s a lot to take on. And now he’s reportedly working on a completely different onscreen project too.
In partnership with Mattel Films and the aforementioned Quality Films, Yachty is also developing a heist movie based on UNO, Variety reports. Yes, the card game UNO. Marcy Kelly’s screenplay supposedly is set in Atlanta’s hip-hop underground, and although casting has not officially begun, Yachty is likely to star in this one as well. In a statement expressing his enthusiasm for the project, Yachty says, “I played UNO as a kid and still do today, so to spin that into a movie based on the Atlanta hip hop scene I came out of is really special. It hits close to home for me.”
It’s not yet clear how UNO factors into the plot. The game, created in a Cincinnati barbershop in the ’70s, has been owned by Mattel since 1992. It’s the latest Mattel property to be adapted into a film following the likes of American Girl, Barbie, Barney, Hot Wheels, and Magic 8 Ball.