Following the imminent success of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies at the box office, Sega is apparently giving another franchise a try for the big-screen.
Deadline recently reported that Lionsgate has acquired the rights to a film based on the fighting series Streets of Rage. In addition, it’s already assigned John Wick creator and writer Derek Kolstad to write the script. No word on who will be playing who just yet, or if there will be any kind of CG kangaroo in boxing gloves involved.
Kolstad will also serve as producer alongside Sega’s Toru Nakahara; dj2 Entertainment’s Dmitri M. Johnson, Timothy I. Stevenson and Dan Jevons; and Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Tony Shaw.
The Streets of Rage series saw huge popularity during Sega’s Genesis and Game Gear days, with a number of games that sold tremendously well. Then the franchise was dormant for a little while, before a sequel, Streets of Rage 4, came out in 2020. Since then, it’s become highly popular – and proper fodder for a film.
Kolstad said about the announcement, “When Dmitri first mentioned the idea of cracking a Streets of Rage movie, I was so immediately freaking in. And to play with Sega? The 10-year- old me is still grinning.”
Erin Westerman, President of Production for Lionsgate, added, “The game has a rich world and narrative, and we’re thrilled to be reuniting with Derek to bring it to life.”
But Johnson had the best comments of all. “I’ve wanted to make a Streets of Rage film since I was 12 years old. This has shaped up to become a ‘dream project’ alongside a ‘dream team.’”
We’ll let you know how casting shapes up as the project moves along! Meanwhile, you can
check out Streets of Rage 4 below!
Want a game console to play Streets of Rage 4 on? We can help with that!
