Lollipop Chainsaw Is Getting An Official Live-Action Movie Prequel

A Lollipop Chainsaw movie is in the works, but don't expect James Gunn to be involved

Following the announcement of a new Lollipop Chainsaw video game, Dragami Games has also confirmed that a live-action prequel movie is in the works. James Gunn, the filmmaker who worked on the original game, doesn't appear to be involved in the adaptation as he continues to work on his new rendition of the DCU.

What we know about the Lollipop Chainsaw movie

Deadline revealed the existence of the Lollipop Chainsaw movie on Sept. 18, hot off the announcement of Lollipop Chainsaw 2 Back2Back at Tokyo Game Show earlier in the week. Its report describes the movie as a prequel to the first game and an "R-rated action comedy" about the series' protagonist, Juliet Starling.

It's still early days for the project, so it currently just has a creative and production team consisting of a grab bag of international filmmakers and producers. Dragami Games told Deadline that it's "pleased to be working with such an experienced and passionate international team — one that understands what makes Lollipop Chainsaw special while embracing the opportunity to create something new." No director or major Western film studio appears to be attached to the Lollipop Chainsaw movie at this time.

Lollipop Chainsaw was originally released by Suda51's Grasshopper Manufacture in 2012. In retrospect, it's notable that James Gunn helped write the game, as he flirted with working full-time in the video game industry before getting the Guardians of the Galaxy directing gig. While reviews were mixed for it at the time, Lollipop Chainsaw became a cult classic and even influenced one of the more memorable Harley Quinn scenes in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.

In the early 2020s, Dragami Games acquired the rights to Lollipop Chainsaw and re-released it. Dragami has drawn criticism for RePop's rough state at launch, for not involving many of the original creators in these new projects, and for making anti-DEI comments last year. Despite that, it is still trying to make Lollipop Chainsaw into a bigger franchise with Lollipop Chainsaw 2 Back2Back, an anime series, and now this live-action movie.