Margot Robbie's production company is bringing The Sims to the big screen, and a new update has been given exclusively to The Direct. The upcoming film is set to draw creative inspiration from hits like Barbie and The LEGO Movie, with Loki Season 1 director Kate Herron helming the project.
The Sims is in development from Amazon MGM Studios, Electronic Arts (EA), Vertigo Entertainment, and Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment. This marks a revival after a previous attempt to make a Sims film at 20th Century Fox was canceled in 2019 when Disney acquired the company.
Since September 2024, when Herron and co-writer Briony Redman officially became attached to the project, not much new information has come out about The Sims movie. However, Herron recently confirmed that the film is in the writing stage and shared that the team is "feeling very good" about its progress.
Luckily, The Direct spoke with Roy Lee, a producer on The Sims, while he was promoting his new movie, The Long Walk.
When asked about what audiences could expect from The Sims movie, producer Lee pointed out how "unique" it will be, drawing parallels to the questions fans had before seeing the "LEGO Movie," another IP-driven film which Lee himself produced:
"It's one of these things where I can't talk about it much, because it's going to be unique. And it's a sort of like, people were wondering, 'What could a 'LEGO Movie' be?' until you saw it."
Lee also emphasized the film's connection to Margot Robbie, bringing up Barbie as another movie to draw comparisons to, as he put it, "Somewhere in between both The Lego Movie and Barbie is where The Sims movie will be:"
"And I'm producing with Margot Robbie. And [audiences] were probably wondering, 'What could a 'Barbie' movie be?' Somewhere in between both 'The Lego Movie' and 'Barbie' is where 'The Sims' movie will be."
From an IP perspective, Barbie and LEGO might be slightly out of The Sims' league, but that doesn't mean it won't succeed. Generally speaking, video game adaptations are on the rise in theaters, with A Minecraft Movie being one of the biggest movies of 2025, and Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is set to follow suit, bringing back five key characters from the game.
Launched in 2000, The Sims turns everyday life into an engaging sandbox experience, becoming a cultural phenomenon now four iterations in. With nearly 200 million copies sold worldwide, it remains one of the best-selling video game franchises ever, making its leap to film an intriguing prospect.
The Sims Movie Status Report
Roy Lee comparing The Sims movie to Barbie and The LEGO Movie should only increase the interest of general audiences. Much like those projects, it's difficult for fans to picture how the life-simulation game could translate into a compelling film, yet that very uncertainty could pave the way for something inventive and unexpected.
The common thread between those three properties is imagination; playing with Barbies, LEGO, or digital Sims characters is only fun when people use their imaginations, meaning the story possibilities are truly endless. The Sims leaves plenty of room for the kind of creative reinvention that can resonate with audiences worldwide.
Herron's background also makes her a fitting choice to bring this adaptation to life. Her work on Loki, one of the most beloved and abstract MCU shows, gives her the creative credibility to make these new avatars matter.
This also isn't her first rodeo with video game adaptations, having directed Season 2, Episode 4 of The Last of Us. It will take time, and probably some casting news, for gamers and moviegoers alike to get excited for The Sims movie, but all the pieces are in place for another unexpected video game success.
