Emboldened by the success of Paramount Pictures' pair of Sonic films, SEGA is turning its attention to its other properties. As Sonic the Hedgehog 2 dominates the theaters, SEGA is capitalizing on this with a Streets of Rage live-action adaptation.
According to Deadline, SEGA is working with John Wick's creator, Derek Kolstad, on a script that would include the story of two former police officers going vigilante, in order to take out a crime syndicate to life.
Streets of Rage isn't the most popular video game franchise, but it does have its fair share of fans. The first game came out on the SEGA Genesis back in 1991 with two more sequels coming in 1992 and 1994. Despite their popularity, the classic series would go on hiatus for nearly three decades until the launch of 2020's Streets of Rage 4 for all major platforms. The big-screen adaptation from a successful action director feels like a very logical next step for SEGA's renewed interest in the franchise.
There's no word yet on when the Streets of Rage film will arrive, but it shouldn't take too long before we start hearing more about the movie. Derek Kolstad is currently working on the Gerard Butler-led heist movie, Just Watch Me. After this, the John Wick writer only has another video game adaptation in Just Cause in the works, leaving him free to work on the script for Streets of Rage.
Hopefully, SEGA can rope in an equally capable director for Streets of Rage that can make sure that the game's action sequences translate well into the big screen.
As for John Wick, the action-thriller franchise has moved on without Kolstad for its fourth and fifth installments. Michael Finch and Shay Hatten have stepped up to the plate to pen the script with Chad Stahelski returning as the film's director for the fourth time. Following an earlier delay, John Wick 4 will hit theaters on March 24, 2023. Meanwhile, Stahelski is also set to helm an adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima from Sony. The last we heard is that Stahelski is not in a hurry to do the film because he "wants to do it right."
