LaKeith Stanfield to Star In, Produce Video Game Adaptation ‘El Paso, Elsewhere’

LaKeith Stanfield, who most recently starred in The Book of Clarence for Sony, is teaming up with veteran producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for El Paso, Elsewhere, an adaptation of the neo-noir vampire video game from publisher Strange Scaffold.

Stanfield is in talks to star in the feature and will also produce along with di Bonaventura, who is known for his action movies such as the Transformers franchise. Colin Stark will also produce

There is no writer or director, as the project is still being packaged in the hopes of finding a studio home. The package is seen as buzzy, as it is a video game adaptation, a bustling genre thanks to titles such as The Last of Us, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and the most recent hit, Fallout.

The game centers on a vampire hunter named James Savage who is on the hunt for his ex-girlfriend, named Janet (AKA Draculae), who seeks to bring about the end of the world.

The logline given by the producers for the adaptation, hint at a more inner conflict: “Recovering from a toxic relationship, James Savage (Stanfield) confronts both his inner demons and enigmatic ex-girlfriend, Janet, before she executes a world-ending ritual. James navigates her reality-bending universe of ethereal monsters while facing the truth of his own addictions and skewed sense of self-worth. James learns that the only route to love is through healing.”

As opposed to many other video game adaptation that take on classic or legacy titles, El Paso is a very new game, debuting in September 2023. Its publisher, Strange Scaffold, is the development label of Xalavier Nelson Jr., a BAFTA-nominated game developer, writer and voice-actor.

Stanfield earned an Oscar nomination in the best supporting category for his performance in 2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah and starred in last year’s Disney summer tentpole Haunted Mansion. He is currently shooting Play Dirty, a crime thriller starring Mark Walhberg that Shane Black is directing for Amazon MGM.

Di Bonaventura is coming off of the release of infamous Spider-Man spinoff Madame Web and last year had Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in theaters.

CAA is putting the package together and reps Stanfield, di Bonaventura and Strange Scaffold. Stanfield is additionally repped by Stark Management and Ginsburg Daniels.