We continually talk on this website about the various video game franchises that get adaptations to either the big screen or the silver screen. The reason we keep doing this is that it keeps happening! Just when you think that the movie will “slow down,” it picks back up with blinding speed and makes you wonder what the next property will be that gets the adaptation. In today’s case, we know that the Shinobi franchise from Sega will be the next adaptation and that it’ll be a movie directed by Sam Hargrave, who has been known for a certain set of Netflix films, among other things.
As noted by ComicBook.com, we don’t exactly know what the film will be about or even if the movie will follow the video game’s main character Joe Musashi. However, we do know it’s being helmed by Universal, which is important because it’s had back-to-back video game movie adaptations that were successful, not the least of which was the billion-dollar-grossing film starring Mario. We’re just saying.
The original game in the line was an arcade title, and it followed the script that you would expect for a game like this, with a ninja using their ninja skills to work their way through a side-scrolling world. Given that ninjas have been key “characters” in various movies for numerous decades, it’s not hard to see how things could be adapted into the movie space in this case. How well it’ll work is another matter entirely, of course.
If you recall, Sega noted last year that they are undergoing an initiative to not just expand their craft, but to bring back many of the once Sega-defining franchises to modern times so that gamers can either enjoy them once again, or see them for the first time. Shinobi is one of those series, and it’s not hard to see why they would want to bring that back, especially with the movie now coming out.
As for Sam Musgrave, the movies he’s most tied to are the Extractionfilms, which were big hits for Netflix when they both dropped. We wanted to point these out because they were known for their intense action sequences, including some that went on for a very long time. So, if he were to put that same kind of effort into this video game movie, we could get something special.
If not, we’ll get something similar to a different assassin movie that Ubisoft made once upon a time…
