Put this one in the 50/50 category, but we’re hearing rumors that Disney is moving behind the scenes to gauge feasibility in reviving the LucasArts brand as a publisher, not as a developer. After relations have soured a bit between Disney and some major third party videogame publishers, Disney’s looking at a post-pandemic world and seeing home media is the way to go. Just one problem: Disney’s videogame capacity is very, very poor.
So what we’re hearing now is that there may be interest on the part of Tim Schafer to do an official Day of the Tentacle sequel, and Disney might be willing to go along with such an endeavor with the LucasArts brand involved. Consider it a dipping of the toes in the water. For those of you unfamiliar with Day of the Tentacle, it’s often considered one of the greatest videogames from the 90s and perhaps the pinnacle of adventure games.
Now this is extremely early on in discussions, and things could change. This is something to keep an eye on, but don’t be surprised if it morphs into a different game or a different endeavor. But what we’re hearing is that this is part of a new push from within Disney to get some movement in the gaming sphere. We believe that’s due to Disney having been very disappointed with sales of Marvel v Capcom Infinite, Marvel’s Avengers, and Star Wars Battlefront II. Getting the LucasArts brand out there again with an indie-esque title might not be a bad idea.
There are two snags we’re aware of. The first is scheduling with Mr. Schafer could be tough – he’s a very busy person, and it’s not believed he would make a Day of the Tentacle sequel without being very hands-on with the script. The second issue is that if development were handed to Double Fine (which it almost surely would), there might be a Microsoft exclusivity requirement, or perhaps a platform exclusivity duration stipulation. All of those types of details would need to be worked out.
In the meantime, there are various fans out there working on non-canon, non-commercial remakes apparently. Feel free to check out the passion project below:
Return of the Tentacle Website
What are your favorite LucasArts videogames you’d like to see Disney perhaps greenlight for future iterations? Let us know in the comments below!
