Gamers who also love going to the movies may be feeling particularly spoiled by the number of adaptations hitting theaters in recent years. From a brand new take on Resident Evil to Detective Pikachu to Uncharted, there's just no shortage of games that have made their way to the screen with some big names attached. Sega fans were likely excited to finally see Sonic the Hedgehog in a movie, but the vintage Sega titles getting the movie treatment don't stop there.
According to Deadline, the next classic Sega game hitting big screens will be the classic brawler Streets of Rage. The project originated as a spec script written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. So far, there are no details about possible directors, cast, or release dates. Kolstad's most recent project was Nobody, which placed Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk in the role of unlikely action hero. Kolstad has also worked with Marvel Studios as a co-executive producer for the Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Streets of Rage first hit the video game scene all the way back in 1991 as a side-scrolling beat-em-up for the Sega Genesis. The simplistic story followed three playable cop characters, Adam, Axel, and Blaze. These heroes are tasked with taking down a crime syndicate run by the not-so-cleverly named Mr. X (not to be confused with the character of the same name from Resident Evil 2). The game was a huge success and was followed up by two more sequels on the genesis. After a long hiatus, the series was revived in 2020 with the release of Streets of Rage 4.
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While it might be hard to imagine any sort of movie-length plot being derived from this type of game, the same could have been said about the side-scrolling platformer Sonic the Hedgehog. However, both movies adapted from those games have seen box office success and positive reception from audiences. This may be due to the star power of Jim Carrey, who plays the villain Dr. Robotnik in both films, but it proves that vintage games can make for decent movies. The Streets of Rage movie will also be produced by dj2 Entertainment, the company behind the Sonic films.
Plus, having Derek Kolstad working on the movie is a huge benefit. Kolstad is responsible for one of the most famous and well-received action franchises of the last ten years with John Wick (which is still going strong with a fourth film and two spinoffs on the way). It will be interesting to see how much of that franchise's brutal action will make its way into Streets of Rage.
Source: Deadline