Noah Centineo is all set to be cast in Netflix’s original focusing on GameStop’s stock surge that occurred last week. When the investing community r/WallStreetBets noticed hedge funds were shorting GameStop stock—or betting on it to fail—users of the subreddit flocked to purchase shares of the ailing video game retailer. As a result, the price of GameStop stock exploded, several hedge funds lost money, with one even going bankrupt, and caused several trading platforms, such as RobinHood, to temporarily suspend trading of the stock.
Independent production company Pinky Promise has announced they are developing the first limited series titled To The Moon, chronicling the r/WallStreetBets and GameStop debacle. A book proposal titled The Antisocial Network and a Netflix film by Mark Boal on the same subject has already been announced in the last 24 hours, but To The Moon will be the first TV series to focus on the story. Pinky Promise is a relatively new production company created by Jessamine Burgum and Matthew Cooper. Now, the duo claims the first TV series detailing the story of Reddit users who noticed hedge funds shorting GameStop and AMC stock before deciding to buy out vast quantities of stock, causing hedge funds to lose billions.
Deadline reports that Pinky Promise is developing a limited series based on the recent stock market antics. To The Moon “follows two roommates laid off from their jobs at GameStop and AMC, who turn Covid into lemonade by using their stimulus checks to dip into the world of day trading.” The TV show is described as a “chronicle of the movement that grabbed Wall Street by the wallet and chucked it all the way to the moon.” As part of early negotiations for Netflix’s untitled GameStop film, Noah Centineo is one star who is attached to play a major role, while Mark Boal is in talks to write the script.
Per Deadline, Netflix’s intention with this project is to use the GameStop stock controversy to “shine a light on the phenomenon of how social media has leveled the playing field and allowed the masses to challenge status quo gatekeepers, for good and bad.” Scott Galloway, an author, and professor at NYU is also in negotiations to consult on the film’s script.
It is still very early on in the development process for Netflix’s GameStop film and it already has two big names attached to it. Centineo has previously starred in the Netflix films To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and its sequel. He will also star in the upcoming Jackie Chan film The Diary and play Atom Smasher in the DCEU’s Black Adam. MGM Studios also appears to be producing a film focusing on the GameStop stock ordeal, as they have acquired the film rights to Ben Mezrich’s book proposal The Antisocial Network. In terms of screenwriters, Mark Boal is a huge name to have on board. He already has an Academy Award to his name for writing The Hurt Locker script, a film that also won Best Picture. Boal was also nominated for penning the screenplay for Zero Dark Thirty.
The company’s previous collaborator Noam Tomaschoff, director of Tankhouse, will be a writer. Tomaschoff, who has had previous experience working in finance, stated that he’s “excited to partner with a wide range of those involved to craft a story that captures the swashbuckling dedication of the normal people who banded together to beat the bad guys at their own game.” As the story of the r/WallStreetBets continues to write itself every day, it’s hard to know what story the new films and now TV series, To The Moon, might tell. What is clear is that a good underdog story still enthralls almost everyone. In the modern world of tech and big industry, a rogue group of Reddit users may offer yet another meaningful iteration of the classic narrative that has done so well across film and television history.
