There is no escape: MrBeast and James Patterson have co-authored a Squid Game-aping thriller, and Hollywood's already tripping over itself to secure the rights

US YouTube personality Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, arrives for the 36th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, on March 4, 2023. YouTuber MrBeast has been named in a lawsuit claiming participants in his $5 million jackpot game show were exploited. Contestants say they were subjected to unfair treatment and sexual harassment while participating in what has been billed as the world's biggest live game show. Papers filed in a Los Angeles court on September 16, 2024, allege contestants were not paid proper wages, and were not given meal breaks or appropriate rest. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images) .

Deadline reports that an eight-figure bidding war has erupted over the rights to a new thriller novel from a surprising authorial team: the world's best-selling author, James Patterson, and the world's biggest YouTuber, Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson.

The pair have apparently co-authored the novel, though I think we're all hoping Patterson did the heavy lifting, and Deadline claims it has "shades of Squid Game." This is not necessarily a surprise, with Squid Game merely the latest and most successful in the long-established sci-fi niche of "deadly gameshow", while MrBeast's own Beast Games proved one of Amazon Prime's most-watched shows last year.