’80s babies solely remember Tetris as the video game that inspired countless dreams of falling blocks, but a new trailer for the Apple TV+ film based on its true story reveals the dramatic lengths it took to secure rights for the Nintendo Game Boy.
Taron Egerton stars as Henk Rogers, an entrepreneur who makes it his mission to bring Tetris to as many people as possible. Describing it as “poetry, art, and math all working in magical synchronicity,” he calls it “the perfect game” while trying to sell the idea to skeptical executives. In order to obtain its rights from the Soviet Union, he teams with inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) to navigate complicated licensing disputes and puts himself in the crossfire of the most powerful men in the Communist Party.
Watch the Tetris trailer, soundtracked by Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” below.
“Tetris tells the unbelievable story of how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to avid players around the globe,” reads the official logline. “Henk Rogers discovers TETRIS in 1988, and then risks everything by traveling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov to bring the game to the masses. Based on a true story, Tetris is a Cold War–era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes, and a nail-biting race to the finish.”
Directed by Jon S. Baird off a screenplay written by Noah Pink, Tetris was executive produced by Iain MacKenzie. It also stars Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, and Toby Jones.
Tetris will premiere March 31st on Apple TV+.