Hello to you and how you be… Dan Ryan here… you there. Thank you so much for checking out this post and if you like what you see please share. On July 23rd, 2026 Deadline ran a report stating that Atari had signed a deal with Universal Pictures to turn 10 of their properties into movies. The properties in question are Asteroids, Adventure, Berzerk, Breakout, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong and Yars’ Revenge. Last time around I pitched my ideas for the first 5 movies on this list. The obviously evil Otto CO. is the villain tying the whole piece of business together. How will they factor into the next 5? Submitted for your approval are my ideas for the remaining 5 movies based on these 10 iconic Atari franchises.

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Millipede: The sequel to Atari’s Centipede, Millipede was another in a long line of successful arcade titles that hit not just arcades, but the Atari 2600 as well. No longer using the bug buster, players now controlled an elf called Archer who killed giant bugs with his magical arrows. Adapting this a bit we can craft a direct sequel to the previous flick. Otto CO., not wanting to lose their investment in their previous Centipede monster, would use the remains picked up at the end of the first film to create an even larger weapon, the Millipede. The Millipede would break confinement, obviously, and the previous team would be sent out once again with the Bug Blaster. But what’s this? The Bug Blaster is no longer enough against this giant monster? And the mushrooms left from damaging this monster are even more dangerous? Why, I suppose a new group of plucky heroes would need to invent the Arrow, a super missile fired from a missile launcher called the Archer wouldn’t they… This again would all be run by Otto CO., who now would have a new weapon in missile form…

Missile Command: Another classic released for the Arcades as well as the Atari 2600, Missile Command put players in charge of 3 missile silos tasked with defending 6 unnamed cities from incoming enemy missiles. Players fired their missiles towards the enemy using a trackball. Missile Command told a very real story at the time. The threat of attack during the Cold War was front and center in the minds of most. So, perfect fodder for a video game (even if it did give its creator nightmares). It was a blast to play both then and now and stands among the best of the Atari catalogue. The movie version would see the Otto CO. finally reveal their true intentions, world domination. Using the technology developed to combat the Millipede, Otto CO. would begin unleashing Arrow missiles at major cities around the globe. The resistance would try to stop the devastation but Otto CO. would simply prove too strong a foe to overcome. Their technological superiority would lead to the future we see in the Berzerk and Breakout film. 

Pong: Without Pong, Atari does not become one of the dominating forces of the early video game scene. It’s not a stretch to say that of all of the hits Atari produced, Pong may just be the most important. The problem with a Pong movie is that the game has no story. Pong is essentially table tennis, and that doesn’t work very well for our shared ACU. That said, it leaves open the possibility of going in a completely bonkers direction, which is the one I have chosen. Appearing later in the release list but telling the origin story of Otto CO. we would see the Pong protocol developed by the corporation as an early form of mind control. Pong would stand for Prototype Organic Neurological Governor, and could be visualized as a stylistic version of the original game. This tech would then be revealed to be what Otto CO. has been using to control not only their giant bug monsters but the humans in charge of their weapons, prisons, and television empires. 

Adventure: I purposefully skipped this last time since I thought it would make a bit more sense given some context. When we talk about the Atari 2600, we talk about Adventure. Adventure showed the promise of what home console gaming could be, not just on the Atari but on any system, so much so that the entire genre took its name from it. And while the game is synonymous with Atari, it may be even more so with its creator Warren Robinette. The movie version of Adventure would take its main character’s name from the famous creator, thrusting Warren into the depths of the Otto CO. headquarters. Using everything they had learned through not only the PONG protocol but their experiments in genetic mutation, Otto CO. would populate their headquarters with 3 “dragons” and a giant, mutated bat. Warren would make his way through the fortress, finding that the fabled Golden Chalice of Otto CO. was really stolen alien tech and that the person in charge of Otto CO. this entire time wasn’t really one person at all but rather a race of aliens called the Qotile. The movie would end with our hero Warren discovering that the Qotile were using Earth as a testing ground for their galaxy wide domination and that Warren, along with his strange new friend Yar, had one more mission to complete.

Yar’s Revenge: One of the more divisive releases from Atari, the 2600 game Yar’s Revenge is one you either love or don’t think about. Its relatively simple premise, break through their defense and destroy the evil Qotile, is enhanced by the offensive capabilities of Yar, the ability to both shoot opposing blocks and eat them, and the necessity of the Zorlon Cannon, the only way to destroy the Qotile. The ability to be hit by your own Zorlon Cannon, enemy projectiles, and one-hit deaths are either fun challenges or frustrating mechanics depending on the player. Regardless of all that, we can use this property to bookend our Atari Cinematic Universe. Here we find that the Qotile had imprisoned one of their mightiest enemies, a heroic humanoid fly like creature called Yar, and forced him to develop weapons and technology. Deciding to use Earth, the planet from which Yar and his species originated from, as a proof of galactic domination concept, the Qotile ticked off not one species, but two. After freeing Yar from the Otto CO. headquarters in Adventure, Warren and Yar would then travel to space to end the Qotile threat once and for all. Big space battles, heroic sacrifice, and massive explosions would guarantee a bonafide summer blockbuster AND a satisfactory conclusion to this entire thought experiment.

And there you have it, the Atari Cinematic Universe over the course of 9 films with a kids movie to boot. While there would obviously need to be some tweaking, I honestly think this makes a modicum of sense and could actually work. To hear what Kris has to say make sure to check out the pod through whatever catcher you use or on our very own Youtube channel. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.