The only thing that should surprise you about the notion of a Space Invaders movie is that Asteroids and Missile Command got snapped up first. After all, Space Invaders is the iconic old arcade game, as basic as all the others, but somehow more memorable thanks to those spindly-legged alien creatures. I mean, it's no Mortal Kombat... but if we're going back to the Atari-era well, we really should have started here.

The LA Times reports that the lucky Space Invaders winner this time is Warner Bros., which is negotiating the rights for the game from original manufacturer Taito. The studio already owns the game's U.S. publisher, Midway, so this probably should have been seen as an obvious next step.

This is the part where we will you that the plot will likely have nothing to do with the story behind the original game-- but then again, did Space Invaders ever actually have a story? I'm actually starting to wonder if any of these old-school arcade games will ever actually turn into movies, or if the studios are just sitting on them for fear that another studio has a better idea for the property. When we get all worked up about Hollywood destroying our childhoods, are we really just getting worked up over a game of studio chicken?