Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who are writer/producers on the hit ABC series Lost, are penning the board game to screen adaptation of Ouija for Universal. Created in the 1890s and acquired by Parker Bros. in 1966, the Ouija board is the 20th Century’s most direct link to the spiritualism that proved so popular in the Victorian era. Hasbro reports sales of more than 12 million copies of the various iterations of the Ouija Board since Parker Bros. acquired the rights in the 1960s.
Universal is developing the Ouija film as part of its deal with Hasbro that has already seen development start on films based on Monopoly, Stretch Armstrong, Candyland, Battleship and other Hasbro properties (see “Monopoly, Magic Movies on Tap?”). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal sees Ouija as a supernatural action-adventure movie. Some rules of the game such as “never use it alone,” “never use it in a graveyard,” and “always say goodbye” may figure in the film’s plot.
In addition to their work on Lost, Kitsis and Horowitz wrote the screenplay for the Tron sequel, Tron Legacy.