The Wrap reports that Electronic Arts is developing a sports comedy based on the so-called “Madden Curse,” the legendary hex alleged to befall any NFL player who appears on the cover of the Madden line of video games. The film would follow a former star who’s forced out of retirement at the same time he finds himself on the cover—a story not unlike Brett Favre’s, who appeared on Madden NFL 2009 as a retired Green Bay Packer, then made the last-minute decision to come out of retirement, where he was subsequently traded to the New York Jets and suffered a torn biceps injury. (Of course, since then everything else has been awesome!)
The superstition has quite a long history before Favre, dating back to when San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst was featured in 1999 and then broke a leg in the playoffs, forcing him to sit out the next two seasons. Since then subsequent releases have resulted in season- or even career-ending mishaps for pretty much everyone who's agreed to be on it, with only current Madden cover model Drew Brees so far escaping without incident (although the season isn’t over yet). We expect the film to finally fully explain these spooky coincidences, perhaps by revealing that John Madden was built over an Indian burial ground.