A movie based on the classic Streets of Rage game series is in the works, according to a report from Deadline. John Wick creator Derek Kolstad reportedly wrote the script on spec (without a studio deal), while the production company behind the Sonic the Hedgehog films will produce the adaption. Escape Artists, the studio behind The Equalizer franchise, is also on board to produce the film, Deadline reports.
Streets of Rage was first released for the SEGA Genesis back in 1991, with Streets of Rage 2 and 3 launching on its heels in 1992 and 1994. In each game, you play as badass vigilantes punching the crap out of villains polluting the streets of the city. The fourth installment of the side-scrolling beat-’em-up came out in 2020, 26 years after the third game. As my colleague Andrew Webster notes in his review, it still manages to capture the same retro feel as the original trio of games, and I’d imagine this is what the modern film adaption of the series may look like.
I’m always wary of game-to-movie adaptions, but Kolstad seems like the right fit to convert a beat-’em-up to the big screen. If his work with the incredibly violent John Wick and Nobody is any hint at what’s to come, I’m hoping that the adaption is just as action-packed and exciting.
dj2 Entertainment is on a roll with video game adaptions, with its release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earlier this month and its deal to adapt the popular indie title It Takes Two for film and television. It’s also working on projects involving Tomb Raider, Disco Elysium, and Life Is Strange. Kolstad has been just as busy with video game adaptions himself, as he’s been called to work on the live-action versions of Splinter Cell, Hitman, and Just Cause.
wazup.