Report: Brett Ratner to Produce Farmville Animated Series

Rumors of a Farmville movie have been floating around for a couple of years now without anything tangible appearing on the horizon. But now, nearly four years since Zynga first launched the popular game on Facebook, it appears Farmville will finally make its way from the gaming realm to your TV screens.

According to a report from Hollywood news site Deadline, director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X-Men) will produce an animated television series based on the game. Working in conjunction with Canadian production house Six Eleven Media, Ratner will launch the series as a half-hour show.

"FarmVille is one of the most exciting brands out there today and its cross-platform opportunities are endless," Ratner said. "I am thrilled to be expanding the brand with existing fans and also engaging a whole new audience."

Although no network is currently attached to the project, the announcement will likely come as welcome news to fans of the game's parent company Zynga, which has suffered a series of setbacks in recent months. In October Zynga was reportedly forced to layoff more than 100 employees, and then in December the company shuttered its Japan office and announced the end of 11 games including FishVille, Vampire Wars, Treasure Isle, Montopia, PetVille, Mafia Wars 2, and Forestville. Just last month, Zynga lost its chief game designer, a serious blow to a company still attempting to recover from the departure of a several high-profile executives in 2012.

Zynga's move into television appears to be just the latest in a new trend toward adapting casual games into viable television and movie properties. In December, Rovio announced that its successful Angry Birds game would be made into a feature-length film set to hit theaters in the summer of 2016.