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Cluedo (franchise)

Cluedo, known as Clue in North America, is a murder mystery-themed multimedia franchise started in 1949 with the manufacture of the Cluedo board game. The franchise has since expanded to film, television game shows, book series, computer games, board game spinoffs, a comic, a play, a musical, jigsaws, card games, and other media.

Board game spin-offs

Waddingtons, Parker Brothers, and Hasbro have created many spin-off versions of the game, consisting of alternative rules varying from the original Classic Detective Game. (Such spin-offs are distinct from themed "variants" using the basic rules and game configuration, effectively new skins on the original board game.) In addition to revising the rules of gameplay, many of the spin-off games also introduce new characters, locations, weapons, and/or alternative objectives.

Computer and video games

Various versions of the game were developed for Commodore 64, MSX, Atari ST, PC, Game Boy Advance, ZX Spectrum, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, CD-i, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, PC, Mac, Xbox 360 and Apple iPhone / iPod Touch.

Film and television

1985 film

A comedic film Clue, based on the American version of the game, was released in 1985. In this version, the person murdered was Mr. Boddy. The film featured different endings released to different theatres. It received mixed reviews and did poorly at the box office, ultimately grossing $14,643,997 in the United States,[33] though it later developed a cult following.[34] All three endings released to theatres are available on the VHS and DVD versions of the film, to watch one after the other (VHS), or to select playing one or all three endings (DVD/Blu-ray).

Upcoming film

Universal Pictures touted a 2008 deal with Hasbro that licensed several of its board games for feature film adaptations;[35] Gore Verbinski was announced as director of Clue,[36] before Universal dropped the project in 2011.[37]

Hasbro landed a new Clue film deal at 20th Century Fox in 2016, with Josh Feldman, Ryan Jones, and Daria Cercek producing. Their film was planned as a "worldwide mystery" with action-adventure elements, potentially setting up a possible franchise that could play well internationally.[38] Fox announced in January 2018 that Ryan Reynolds, as part of his first-look deal with the studio, would star in a live-action remake of Clue, with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick as scriptwriters.[39] Jason Bateman was connected to the project in 2019,[40] then left, with James Bobin discussed as his replacement in 2020.[41][42] Following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Reynolds expressed uncertainty about the film in 2021,[43] bringing Oren Uziel onboard to rewrite the screenplay in 2022.[44]

Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to the Clue franchise under its TriStar Pictures label in April 2024.[45]

Game shows

There have been several television game shows based upon this game. To date, there have been four seasons of the British version of Cluedo (and a Christmas version that in fact shows some similarity to the North American movie), and there have been other versions in Germany (Cluedo - Das Mörderspiel), France (Cluedo), Italy, Australia (Cluedo), Portugal (Cluedo) and Scandinavia (Cluedo - en mordgåta). The format for each puts two teams (each usually containing one celebrity and one person with law enforcement/research experience) against six in-character actors as the famed colour-coded suspects. There is a new murder victim every episode, who usually has it coming to them for one reason or another. Each episode uses different weapons. In the Christmas episode in the UK the six original weapons were used.

TV series

On August 6, 2010, The Hub announced that an original five-part miniseries based on Clue was in pre-production. The miniseries premiered on November 14, 2011 and featured a youthful, ensemble cast loosely based on the characters of the board game, working together to unravel a mystery.[46][47][48] The short mini-series draws similarities to the original board game and mostly to the 2012 spin-off Clue: The Classic Mystery Game which both featured the characters belonging or having ties to secret societies/houses and fitting closely with the character descriptions.

Fox Entertainment greenlit an animated Clue series in 2021 in partnership with Hasbro's Entertainment One, with Bento Box Entertainment serving as co-production and the animation studio for the show.[49]

It was later moved to 20th Television Animation and Hulu.

Documentary

The Clue title and theme were used in the 1986 US documentary Clue: Movies, Murders, and Mystery, which took a look at mystery-related pieces of media including Murder on the Orient Express; Murder, She Wrote; Sherlock Holmes and other television series and movies, as well as a look at the board game itself. The one-hour special was hosted by Martin Mull, who had starred in the feature film adaptation the previous year; clips from the movie are seen intertwined with the footage.

Theatre

Musical

A comedic musical of Clue, based on the American version of the game, ran Off Broadway in 1997, closing in 1999. At the start of each performance, three audience members each select one card from oversized versions of the traditional game decks and place them in an envelope. The chosen cards determine the ending of the show, with 216 possible conclusions.

Play (1985)

Penned by Robert Duncan with the cooperation of Waddingtons, the first official theatrical adaptation of Cluedo was presented by the amateur theatre group: The Thame Players in Oxfordshire in July 1985. The play was subsequently picked up by Hiss & Boo productions and began a successful tour of the UK. A second tour was undertaken in 1990. Like the musical, the play involved the audience's random selection of three solution cards which were revealed towards the end of the play, whereupon the actors would then conclude the play by performing one of the 216 endings possible. Presently the play is not available for performance due to a restriction by Hasbro, since Hasbro has been planning to make a new movie.[50] It is unclear whether the restriction applies to the musical as well.

Clue: On Stage

Based on the 1985 movie from Paramount Pictures, the play was written by Sandy Rustin. This version of the play also has been edited for a High School and Virtual performance environment.[51] Unlike the other 2 stage adaptations, Clue: On Stage presents all endings, similar to the home video version of the movie. [52]

Print

Books

A series of 18 humorous children's books/teen books were published in the United States by Scholastic Press between 1992 and 1997 based on the Clue concept and created by A. E. Parker. The books featured the US Clue characters in short, comedic vignettes and ask the reader to follow along and solve a crime at the end of each. Solutions are printed upside down, with an explanation, on the page following each chapter. The crime would usually be the murder of another guest besides Mr. Boddy, a robbery of some sort, or a simple contest, in which case they must figure out who won. The tenth and final vignette would always be the murder of Mr. Boddy. Somehow, Mr. Boddy would always manage to cheat death, such as fainting before the shot was fired or being shot with trick bullets. However, at the end of the 18th book, Mr. Boddy stays dead.

In 2003, Canadian mystery writer Vicki Cameron wrote Clue Mysteries, a new set of mini-mystery books. The series is geared toward a more adult audience while still retaining some comic absurdity of the 1990s series. Only two books were published; both feature more complex storylines and vocabulary, as well as fifteen mysteries apiece. The first book contains the more modern looking clue game cover by Drew Struzan.[53]

Another book called "CLUE Code-Breaking Puzzles" was released in December 2008 written by Helene Hovanec. The book contains 60 mysteries.[54]

A similar series of books featuring the Clue Jr. characters was also published. The first book, Who Killed Mr. Boddy? features thirteen mysteries. Mr Boddy is a trillionaire, and the guests are his friends. Each "friend" attempts to kill him at one point, intent to cash in on his will. The guests are all given some sort of defining characteristic for comic effect, as well as to help the reader discern the culprit. Colonel Mustard constantly challenges other guests to duels, Professor Plum often forgets things, and Mr. Green is notoriously greedy. Mrs. Peacock is highly proper and will not stand for any lack of manners, the maid Mrs. White hates her employer and all the guests, and Miss Scarlet is beautiful and seductive. Mr. Boddy himself is ludicrously naive, to the point where he accepts any attempt to kill him as an accident or a misunderstanding, and invites the guests back to the mansion. This explains why he never seeks any legal action against his "friends," and invited them back despite repeated attempts to kill him. He eventually wises up enough to be suspicious of them, but continues to invite them over against better judgement.

The Clue Jr. series originally had all six characters, but suddenly, some of the characters were taken out, leaving only four. The mysteries usually only included cases similar to the theft of a toy, but sometimes the cases were more serious. They are usually solved when the culprit traps himself in his own lies.

American author Diana Peterfreund wrote a trio of Clue Mystery titles that adapt the story for an elite boarding school: In the Hall with the Knife (2019), In the Study with the Wrench (2020), and In the Ballroom with the Candlestick (2021).[55]

Comics

IDW Publishing has produced two limited series comics based on the franchise.

Clue was written by Paul Allor and released in 2017,[56] set in the Hasbro Comic Book Universe alongside various other Hasbro properties.[57][58]

Clue: Candlestick was written and illustrated by Dash Shaw and released in 2019, unrelated to the prior series and set in its own standalone continuity.[59]

Jigsaw puzzles

A series of jigsaw puzzles (500 piece Clue/750 piece Cluedo/200 Jr. ed.), based on the game was introduced in 1991. The jigsaw puzzles presented detailed stories with a biography for each of the standard suspects. The object was to assemble the jigsaw puzzles and then deduce the solutions presented in the mystery stories from the clues provided within the completed pictures. There were four titles in the 750 piece series: Death in the First Edition, Garden of Evil, Killers in the Kitchen, and Six Cases of Murder.

References

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