Actors Rosario Dawson and Tony Revolori are set to star in “Ghosts of Ruin,” a Western anime series from Gala Film, the entertainment division of Web3 startup Gala Games. The series, produced and developed by new media content studio Battle Island, will feature original music from composer Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers collective.
“Ghosts of Ruin” follows a group of gamers as they navigate a deadly tournament in a dystopian, near-future version of San Francisco where games are directly synced into players’ minds and are indistinguishable from real life. Dawson, most recently known for portraying the Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano in multiple Disney+ series—including “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” and the upcoming limited series “Ashoka”—will voice Prism, a standoffish pro gamer determined to win the tournament. Revolori, who starred in 2014’s Wes Anderson film “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Marvel Studios’ latest “Spider-Man” film franchise, will voice series protagonist Lee, a small-time gamer who joins the tournament at the last minute.
The pilot episode of “Ghosts of Ruin” will debut on Gala’s platform in August but will initially only be made accessible to holders of specialized NFTs sold to fund the show’s production. The NFTs, set up in four tiers, offer varying levels of immersive access to the series. The most basic tier, “The Coder,” offers access to the show, related exclusive content, and other digital collectibles for $250 worth of GALA tokens. The most rarefied tier of NFT, “The Board Member,” allowed holders to be directly involved in the series’ production as a character or contributor. Forty-five of those passes were sold for $2,500 worth of GALA each.
After debuting the pilot on Gala Film, the series’ producers hope to use it as a proof of concept to pitch to a major streaming service. Gala Film CEO Sara Buxton said in a statement that it was important for them to support this project as they believe in the genre and the team’s approach. The series is a perfect melding of timely storytelling with top-tier artistic talent, and the Web3 elements will provide a more rewarding experience for all involved through digital ownership and benefits.
“Ghosts of Ruin” is showrun and written by Michael Ryan, who recently served as the showrunner on the Apple TV+ original animated series “Wolfboy and The Everything Factory.” The series was created by Battle Island’s PJ Accetturo and Ryan Ramsey.
In related news, last month, actors Danny Trejo and Mena Suvari joined “RZR,” another Web3-native series from Gala set to premiere exclusively on the startup’s platform this summer.
However, Gala faced some challenges when crypto exchange Coinbase abruptly announced that it would not support an upgraded version of the company’s GALA token, without explaining the reason behind the decision.
Despite these challenges, the creation of innovative and immersive new content like “Ghosts of Ruin” could potentially set a new precedent for how creators and fans engage with media in a Web3-based future. The utilization of NFTs to grant exclusive access and offer varying levels of involvement in a project’s creation reflects a new approach to content distribution, backed by decentralized technology. This new era of entertainment has the potential to provide creators with more freedom and opportunities while offering fans a unique and interactive experience.
