The beat ’em up SEGA game series Streets of Rage joins the long list of video games being adapted into movies. Deadline has reported that John Wick creator Derek Kolstad has signed on to lead the film. In addition to John Wick, Kolstad also wrote the action-thriller Nobody which starred Bobo Odenkirk. Streets of Rage should be right at home with the accomplished action filmmaker.
Streets of Rage first landed on the scene in 1991, having been developed and published by SEGA for the Genesis game console. The action game debuted as a side-scroller featuring former police officers turned vigilantes trying to rid an American city from a crime syndicate. Multiple sequels have since been released with the most recent ones launching on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Streets of Rage continues to be a popular franchise over 30 years later as Street of Rage 4 launched in April 2020 and has since sold more than 2.5 million units around the world.
dj2 Entertainment, the producers behind Sonic the Hedgehog, and Escape Artists will lead the production on the upcoming Streets of Rage film. dj2 Entertainment has made a name for itself when it comes to video game adaptations with its latest film being Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the studio also recently signed on to adapt It Takes Two for Amazon.
In addition to a Street of Rage film adaptation, there are numerous other video game movies and TV shows in the works. Just today, Jason Momoa was confirmed to star in a Minecraft movie, Chad Stahelski will direct a Ghost of Tsushima film for Sony and PlayStation Productions, The Last of Us series is currently in production for HBO starring Pedro Pascal, Amazon has a Mass Effect series in the works, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more video game-inspired movies and shows in the works. It’s a great time to be a fan fo games and movies.