“Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson has joined the cast of Sony’s Adam Sandler action-comedy “Pixels,” TheWrap has learned.
Kevin James, Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage co-star alongside Michelle Monaghan and Brian Cox.
“Pixels” is based on Patrick Jean’s buzzed-about short film, which depicted popular 1980s video game characters attacking New York City.
The feature follows aliens who misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war against them and attack Earth, using the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper (James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), to lead a team of old-school arcaders (Dinklage and Gad) to defeat the aliens and save the planet. Monaghan plays the team’s weapons specialist.
Benson will play Lady Lisa, a beautiful warrior from the fictional ’80s video game Dojo Quest.
Chris Columbus is directing the big-budget 2015 summer tentpole, which was written by Tim Herlihy and Tim Dowling, based on a story by Herlihy.
Sandler and Columbus are producing with Mark Radcliffe and Allen Covert, while the executive producers Barry Bernardi, Michael Barnathan, Jack Giarraputo, Heather Parry, Steve Koren, Benjamin Darras, Johnny Alves, Matias Boucard, Seth Gordon and Ben Waisbren, as well as Herlihy and Jean.
Production is currently under way, as the film is slated to invade theaters on May 15, 2015.
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After starring on “Days of Our Lives” and “Eastwick,” Benson landed the star-making role of Hanna Marin on the hit ABC Family series “Pretty Little Liars.” On the big screen, she most recently starred alongside Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and James Franco in Harmony Korine’s indie hit “Spring Breakers.”
Benson is represented by WME, LBI Entertainment and attorney Dave Feldman.