New Line Buys Commando Series Creators' CG Film, Game Adaptation Coming

After crafting the Commandos series of PC real-time tactical games, the founders of Madrid-based Pyro Studios went on to try their hand at cinema by starting Ilion Animation Studios in 2003. The move seems to have been a wise choice, as New Line Cinema recently bought the Spanish studio's first $60 million film, "Planet 51."

Fittingly, the movie creators' own Pyro Studios will be crafting the video game adaptation of the movie, which will arrive "across the five leading console platforms," according to Hollywood Reporter. Director Jorge Blanco and co-directer Marcos Martinez helmed the creation of the original Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines while at Pyro Studios.

"Planet 51" will mark New Line Cinema's first foray into animated films. With a story penned by the writer of "Shrek," the movie follows the travels of an astronaut who arrives on a planet of anxious aliens afraid of outsiders. Currently in production, the movie will be finished in 2009 and has already been sold in 30 territories.