Next spring, Jerry Bruckheimer will release Prince of Persia: Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character (and Ben “Gandhi” Kingsley as the ethnically ambiguous villain). The movie will be based on the 2003 incarnation of the game, but I think this would have been a perfect opportunity to reach back to the original 1989 version and release the world’s first side-scrolling movie. Given the game’s story line comes down to a guy running around a palace, the side-scrolling format would be a perfect distraction from the plot (2D is due for a comeback anyway).

For a video-game crossover, Prince of Persia sounds all well and good (sadly, I saw both Tomb Raider entries in theaters, so it’s a little late for me to be a snob), but I have some suggestions regarding game narratives worth a second look. It seems as if any premise will do.

Tetris would make a great movie. It could tell the tale of a village in a Soviet bloc nation where the hardscrabble villagers must work together despite their differences to save the village from impending destruction. John Goodman could star as the four-by-four square with Natalie Portman as the curvaceous L-shape.

Asteroids, the arcade game where a vaguely spaceship-shaped thing attempted to destroy vaguely rock-shaped things, seems tailor made for a fanciful Hollywood depiction. Building on the science fiction momentum established by last spring’s Star Trek, an Asteroids film could document the USS Triangle’s voyage into deep space. Although the crew of the Triangle is instructed to focus on their mission of destroying threatening asteroids, they make a tremendous scientific discovery when, in an attempt to pursue an asteroid, they fly off the edge of universe only to reappear on the opposite side, thereby altering our perception of space and physics forever.

What about Super Smash Bros.? A series of random explosions and fight scenes that cause the cast to fly wildly around the screen for two and a half hours of total chaos sounds like box office gold. I bet Michael Bay is already attached to direct, and Mel Gibson is strongly considering the role of Donkey Kong.

All kidding aside, the Carmen Sandiego movie (which failed to get off the ground in 1997) is due for a fresh look. Mo’Nique, please consider the role of the Chief.