Hollywood actor Bill Paxton, who has played leading roles in blockbuster films such as Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic, is to star alongside Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in an upcoming factual BBC drama about the development of controversial video game series Grand Theft Auto. Black Mirror and Misfits director Owen Harris is set to direct.

The drama, currently going under the working title "Game Changer," will see Radcliffe taking on the role of Rockstar Games co-founder and GTA developer Sam Houser, while Paxton will take on the role of disbarred lawyer and famed anti-GTA crusader Jack Thompson. While the BBC’s blurb about the drama doesn’t specifically mention which version of GTA will be chronicled, the inclusion of Thompson and Houser suggests that it will focus only on the 3D editions of the game, from GTA III onward.

According the BBC’s synopsis, the 90-minute drama will focus on the game's origins under Houser, which it describes as "the greatest British coding success story since Bletchley Park," while also delving into the intense controversy surrounding GTA’s violent content and its impressive commercial success. To put that success into perspective, GTA V—the latest release in the series—had sold over 45 million copies as of February this year, raking in billions of dollars for publisher Take-Two Interactive. It also remains the best-selling game of all time in the UK, overtaking previous record holder Call of Duty: Black Ops.

While GTA’s popularity alone makes it a prime candidate for the drama treatment, the controversy surrounding its release will likely make for some compelling viewing. Thompson's character is of particular interest given his run-ins with the game over the years. These include multiple lawsuits against Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, Sony, and Walmart. In 2005, Thompson helped file a suit accusing that GTA III and GTA: Vice City "trained and motivated" then 18-year-old Devin Moore to murder three people in Fayette, Alabama.

Thompson also attempted to sue Rockstar for Bully and famously called Grand Theft Auto IV "the gravest assault upon children in this country since polio" due to its sexual content. Thompson’s one-man crusade came to an end in 2008, when he was found guilty on 27 charges of misconduct and permanently disbarred.

Interestingly, Game Changer isn’t a third-party production being brought in by the BBC but is instead being produced by one of its in-house teams. That a broadcaster with the clout of the BBC is actively recognizing the impact of a video game, even if it is one attached to a particularly juicy story, is another sign that perhaps games are finally getting the respect they deserve for their cultural contributions.