'Hunger Games' Predecessor 'Battle Royale' May Be a CW Show

Amid the hype and adoration of "The Hunger Games" earlier this year was a contrarian cry to all the positive reviews, and it went something like this: "It was better the first time around, when it was 'Battle Royale.'"

"Battle Royale" was a Japanese film, you see, that came before "The Hunger Games" and had many of the same themes: the story centers on a group of high-school-aged kids who are forced to fight to the death in a dystopian future.

This obviously has some similarities to "Hunger Games," in which high-school-aged kids are forced to fight to the death in a dystopian future, but in a televised arena. Also there's a love triangle.

Interestingly, when "Battle Royale" was released in Japan back in 2000, American distributors had no interest in it as it was deemed too disturbing thematically. But now that "The Hunger Games" has paved the way (and earned tons of money doing so), "Battle Royale" is getting a second look... only as a TV show.

Oddly enough, it's The CW that is showing interest in adapting "Battle Royale" for TV. It seems like pretty heavy material for the network, but the teen-oriented programming there could welcome something that equates to a TV version of "The Hunger Games."