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A rumor recently surfaced online that the popular games franchise is being adapted into a Hollywood movie titled The Sims, starring actor and retired professional wrestler Dave Bautista and actress-producer Reese Witherspoon. The YODA BBY ABY account was the first to claim on Facebook on April 23, 2025.
“THE SIMS MOVIE!!! DARK COMEDY!!! Step into The Sims, a darkly hilarious tale where bodybuilder Max (Dave Bautista) and homemaker Lila (Reese Witherspoon) uncover a chilling truth — they’re trapped in a simulated reality controlled by a chaotic teen gamer,” the caption read.
It continued, “As glitches tear Simsville apart and meteors loom, the duo fights to rewrite their code, blending Director Parker Finn’s eerie tension with laugh-out-loud absurdity. Will they break free, or remain pawns in a pixelated nightmare?”
YODA BBY ABY’s post came alongside an alleged movie poster featuring Bautista and Witherspoon against an animated background. It further revealed that the rumored film would hit the theaters in August 2025. The post amassed 16K reactions, 4.9K comments, and 4.7K shares in under two days.
However, the now-viral claim has turned out to be fake. There is no confirmation from a verifiable source that Dave and Reese are starring in The Sims, although a movie is in the making and was announced in September last year.
Moreover, the YODA BBY ABY Facebook page is known for its parodical nature of content, seemingly meant for virality and sensationalism. Its bio states:
“I'm just here to eat frogs, lift rocks, and be satirical. The page is 100% satire and fake news.”
Thus, the rumor that The Sims movie starring Dave Bautista and Reese Witherspoon is releasing in 2025 can be debunked.
Margot Robbie is set to produce The Sims movie
In September 2024, game developer EA announced a partnership with Amazon MGM Studios to make a movie based on The Sims. At the time, EA said it was too early to give details but promised more updates in 2025, during the game's 25th anniversary. EA's VP, Kate Gorman, said the idea for The Sims movie came after seeing the success and cultural impact of the 2023 Barbie movie.
“It’s very much rooted in The Sims universe. And what we want is to have a truly authentic ‘Sims’ experience brought to a theatrical release. So, what you’ll see from us is that we have been wanting to get this right. We wanted the right partners and to make an impact the size of something like a Barbie movie,” Gorman stated.
She added, “We want this to be an experience that reflects all that amazing history and play of so many people in this world, but also is something that you can share across generations and to be part of pop culture and culturally relevant.”
Kate Gorman mentioned that they were aware of the “love and nostalgia” surrounding the game franchise, which is why they wanted to take their time and do it right.
She concluded by saying a lot of in-game lore would “come to life” and the audience would be able to have the “classic experiences” that their players have. As per Gorman, the idea was to give a “nod” to the fun and creation people have experienced over the last 25 years with The Sims universe and include aspects from it, such as a “pool without a ladder” and “Freezer Bunnies.”
At the time, reports emerged that Australian actress and producer Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap production company would produce the film while Kate Herron would direct and executive produce it. Herron was also announced as the co-writer of the screenplay alongside Briony Redman.
However, no information about the cast or the release date was released at the time.
Notably, in 2017, writer-filmmaker Brian Lynch shared a script for a live-action The Sims movie featuring a young protagonist who learns that everything he does in the videogame also happens in the real world. Both EA and Fox Studios reportedly liked the script, as per CBR.
However, after years of anticipation, in 2019, the movie was officially canceled, with media reports claiming it happened after Disney took over Fox.
Meanwhile, during a May 2024 interview with The Guardian, Brian Lynch noted that the cost of adapting the videogame for the big screen, including special effects and a star-studded cast, was too high, which is why the project was scrapped.
“There would have been famous people, playing themselves, walking around the town and in the school. That would have been cool. But the leads would all probably have been unknowns, which I think also added to the reasons Fox didn't make it,” Lynch shared.
According to CBR, there was also an apparent fear among fans of the game franchise that a Hollywood adaptation might affect its reputation.
The Sims originally dropped in early 2000 as a life simulation video game, created by Will Wright, developed by Maxis, and published by EA. It sold 200 million copies globally and was translated into 22 languages. Its latest release occurred in March 2025, aka, The Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies.
