The professional skateboarder Tony Hawk announces plans to release a documentary on theTony Hawk’s Pro Skatergame series, and pursue a new game without Activision.
Without a doubt, theTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterfranchise has not only been one of the longest-running gaming franchises in history, with sequels spanning some ofthe best video game consoles of all time, but also it has been one of the most influential titles as well, especially considering the fact that the original installment inspired countless gamers to pick up the game as well as a skateboard, which helped to grow the sport into a full-fledged phenomenon in the late ’90s. Now, Tony “The Birdman” Hawk – the de facto face of the franchise – has announced that he is working on a documentary about theTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterseries, while also potentially developing a new game without the help of Activision.
When it comes to the newTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterdocumentary, the professional skateboarder took tohis official Twitter accountto reveal the forthcoming movie’s title,Pretending I’m a Superman, which is a reference to a lyric in the Los Angeles punk rock band Goldfinger’s song “Superman” that was on the soundtrack for the franchise’s flagship title. Beyond confirming the documentary is currently in production, however, Hawk didn’t offer further details as to when or where fans should expect the film to debut.
As pointed out byNeoGAF user Piston Hyundai, the documentary forTony Hawk’s Pro Skateris being worked on by former Neversoft producer Ralph D’Amato, who had his hands in the development of every game up toProject 8, and he will be joined by the talents of the YouTube user known as Icebears4ever. Interestingly enough, the YouTuber has put out similar work in the past, as he made anunofficial historical documentaryofTony Hawk’s Pro Skatera couple of years back in anticipation of the release ofTHPS 5.
While news of theTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterdocumentary is certainly an exciting proposition to the series' fans, perhaps the more intriguing information is in regards to the professional skateboarderadmitting to Jenkem Magazinein an interview that he has been in the nascent stages of creating a new game without Activision. Hawk was asked during the discussion whether or not there would be more entries in theTHPSfranchise, and he replied, “Not from Activision. I’m potentially working on something but it’s so early I couldn’t talk about it. I don’t have any contracts signed but it’s exciting. I feel like it’s with the right people so I should know more in the next couple months.”
Taking all of this into consideration, it’s quite possible that Tony Hawk could have decided to step away from hisPro Skaterseries to help with the production of therecently teasedSkate 4.After all, the long-runningTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterseries could have left the Birdman feeling creatively bankrupt, and it stands to reason that tapping into a different franchise altogether might satisfy Hawk’s expressive side even more so than working on a project so familiar to him.
Of course, he could have simply decided to not move forward with another partnership with Activision for the time being after the publisher’s release of the lacklusterTHPS 5, which many believe to be one ofthe most disappointing games of 2015. Bearing that in mind, there’s a chance that Tony Hawk doesn’t want his name attached to another title that receivesabysmally bad reviewsfrom both the fans and critics.
As of writing, there is currently no release date for theTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterdocumentary,Pretending I’m a Superman.
