Shawn Mendes is adding another milestone to his resumé. The Teach Me How to Love singer has joined the upcoming series adaptation of Square Enix’s popular video game Life Is Strange as an executive producer – The Hollywood Reporter exclusively shared on August 31.
The Life Is Strange video game series started in 2015 with the release of the first choose-your-own-adventure game. Since then various instalments, including a prequel and spin-off, have followed. The fifth instalment in the franchise, called Life Is Strange: True Colors, is set to release on September 10. News of a Life Is Strange TV series adaption first broke in 2016, coming from Legendary Digital Studios and Square Enix. Back then, it was announced that dj2 Entertainment would be producing the project. According to reporting by Deadline, in 2017, rights to the series had been sold to Hulu.
Shawn is joining the Life Is Strange series alongside his manager Andrew Gertler, who also happens to be his partner at Permanent Content. The pair launched the television and film production company in late 2020 as a joint venture with Anonymous Content and have already produced his Netflix doc, In Wonder, together. In their role, Shawn and Andrew are said to be overseeing music for the series. As players might know, the inclusion of music was an integral part of the first video game, which followed the story of Max Caulfield, a high schooler that serendipitously uncovers a special ability to unwind time. The Life Is Strange soundtrack, which has an official playlist on both Spotify, features an original score by Jonathan Morali as well as licensed tracks from mostly indie acts: the likes of Alt-J, Angus & Julia Stone, and Syd Matters.
“Life is Strange really differs from what people think of gaming,” Greg Siegel, senior VP of development and production at Legendary Digital Studios, said when the series was first announced. “Because there’s such a focus on character, there’s an emotional connection to the story that doesn’t happen with other games.” And one thing that universally helps convey such emotions is undoubtedly music.