After the recent merging of fan-driven juggernauts Wattpad and WEBTOON and the launch of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Development Fund, the newcomer studio has announced three upcoming film and television adaptations -- GremoryLand, Unholy Matrimony and I’m a Gay Wizard.
Wattpad's Unholy Matrimony and I’m a Gay Wizard are both under development as television series, while the horror WEBTOON GremoryLand is set to make its way onto the big screen. Upcoming films based on Deanna Cameron’s What Happened That Night and T.L. Bodine’s The Hound were the first projects launched upon the creation of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Development Fund in May 2020. These three new projects were made possible by a $100 million commitment to the fund by the studio’s parent company, Naver, over the summer.
The rapid expansion of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios is indicative of both Wattpad and WEBTOON’s ability to attract massive fanbases online in untapped markets. Touting 166 million fans across both platforms, it's no surprise that Wattpad and WEBTOON are branching out to reach film and television audiences with their hit stories.
GremoryLand has attracted over 20 million readers to A. Rasen’s twisted, titular amusement park. The WEBTOON, which follows six reunited friends as they confront the tailored horrors awaiting them in GremoryLand, will be adapted by screenwriter Gabriel Bergmoser. An award-winning playwright and novelist, Bergmoser wrote the horror novel The Hunted which will soon be receiving an on-screen adaptation as well.
An arranged marriage between two opposing vineyard heirs takes center stage in @xxinlove’s Unholy Matrimony, which has been a resounding success on Wattpad among the romance audience. The tale will be adapted for television by screenwriter and producer Alyson Weaver Nicholas, who served for two seasons on the Snapchat series Two Sides.
As with other Wattpad hits, the success of V.S. Santoni’s I’m a Gay Wizard led to the Wattpad series making its way onto bookshelves. Santoni’s tale of queer friends Johnny and Allison’s mysterious journey to the Marduk Institute produced two novels, I’m a Gay Wizard and I’m a Gay Wizard in the City of the Nightmare King. Price Peters, of The CW’s Vampire Diaries' spin-off Legacies and Paramount’s recent adaptation of Heathers, has been tasked with bringing Santoni’s fantasy story to television.
Wattpad and WEBTOON have already sparked many adaptations including After, The Kissing Booth and the upcoming Lore Olympus. However, with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Development Fund, these powerhouse sites of online fandom and readership now have their own means to get on-screen adaptations of popular stories off the ground.
While initial chapters of Unholy Matrimony and I’m a Gay Wizard are available for free on Wattpad, subsequent chapters can be purchased or found on bookstore shelves. As for GremoryLand, all 14 episodes can be found and read on WEBTOON.
Source: Wattpad WEBTOON Studios