Pirates of the Caribbean, ARMAGEDDON, National Treasure and Top Gun are all huge blockbusters with one theme in common, Jerry Bruckheimer. Now, as reported by DEADLINE, the blockbuster king will be producing a live-action movie with Paramount based on the popular toy franchise Beyblade.

The film is in early development, but the Transformers studio will likely be considering franchise potential given the popularity of the toys, which have sold hundreds of millions of units.

What is Beyblade?

The top spinning toys were originally developed by Japanese firm Takara and have been licensed by different toy companies, including Hasbro. The battling tops concept inspired manga, anime, and comics series, followed by localized international TV versions, all based around a Beyblade fighting tournament. Early Beyblades included Ultimate Frostic Dranzer, Spin Dragoon and Saizo.

The tops fight in arenas called Beystadiums, similar to coliseums with open sections in the walls and openings on the sides to launch into. Each Beyblade has a BeyLauncher, used to launch into battle. The toys originated in Japan and were licensed to Hasbro in 2001. The toyline got a second wind in 2009 when a second-generation called Metal Fusion became a big seller, and a new generation of the Beyblades was released in 2017. The most recent, the Beyblade Burst, was launched in 2021. Sales and online trades have continued to grow with new rare Beyblades being released and sold.

The toys have also spawned their own anime series and films. Originally airing in Japan on TV Tokyo from January 8th, 2001, to December 24, 2001, the series was licensed by Nelvana, who produced the English-language adaptation of the series, including its two sequel series, Beyblade V-Force and Beyblade G-Revolution, and the 2002 film Beyblade: The Movie - Fierce Battle. Since then, more anime series have been produced and released as the popularity of the toys grew.

Pirates Of The Caribbean producer Bruckheimer and Paramount are finally due to release the anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick this summer. The Hollywood producer is also in production on Paramount action-adventure movie Secret Headquarters with Owen Wilson and on the modern-day TV adaptation of the 1980 film American Gigolo with Paramount TV. He is also producing the Brad Pitt Formula One movie, which has Top Gun: Maverick director Joeseph Kosinski on board and will be heading towards Apple TV+.

Neil Widener and Gavin James are scripting this new project, which of course, plot details are being kept under wraps. Widener and James have been developing an adaptation of comic Hourman with Warner Bros, DC Films and Chernin Entertainment. The two have also worked on scripts including Now You See Me 3 for Lionsgate and Michael Crichton novel adaptation Micro. Bruckheimer is known for going big with his action films and franchises over the years. With the Beyblade toys being all about the action and the fight, we may be able to expect a huge film hitting the streaming service with possible spin-offs.