Will Ferrell to Star as Professional eSports Player in Upcoming Movie

Former Saturday Night Live alumni and movie funny man Will Ferrell is no stranger to sports-themed comedy films. He had previously starred in Blades of Glory as a professional figure skater, played professional basketball in Semi-Pro and competed in NASCAR professionally in Taladega Nights as a Ricky Bobby. The latest feature project he is attached to however, will put the comedian’s APM skills to the test as he becomes a professional eSports player. In a scene dominated by teenagers and twenty-something players with hyper-human reaction skills, the comedic conceit is an obvious one: having the 49-year old actor square off against hordes of top players less than half his age. The movie itself is being made by Legendary pictures and to be distributed by Universal pictures.

The most recent League of Legends championships drew more viewers than the last NBA finals and the prize pool for many popular eSports tournaments are now counted in the millions, so the timing could not be any better for the movie. There are of course, those who would question whether eSports is a “real” sport or not, such as pundits on ESPN for example. But a feature film starring one of the most popular comedic actors working today will surely bring eSports acceptance to a larger mainstream audience who otherwise are unfamiliar with such events.

The film has yet to receive an official title but according to Variety magazine, negotiations are currently underway to bring in actual eSports players such as Evil Geniuses and Fnatic to round out the eSports authenticity in the film. Will Ferrell himself is familiar with the video game world, having streamed his gameplay on Twitch before to raise money for charities Cancer for College and Donate Games. During that time, the actor stated in an act of playful bravado that “It’s no secret the best gamers in the world have wanted a piece of (him) for years”, so it looks like this role might be perfect for him after all.