EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of its success with Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog films, SEGA has another franchise coming to the big screen with beat ’em up game Streets of Rage getting the film treatment, sources tell Deadline.Derek Kolstad , who created the John Wick action franchise and penned the Bob Odenkirk actioner Nobody, will write the script.
Streets of Rage, developed and published by SEGA, first launched in 1991 for the Genesis home video game console.The side-scroller follows former police offers who battle a crime syndicate.Since the debut game, the Streets of Rage franchise has spawned a number of sequels across numerous gaming platforms including the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch.The latest tile in the franchise, Streets of Rage 4, released in April 2020 and sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.Sonic producer dj2 Entertainment and Escape Artists (Equalizer franchise) will produce the film adaptation.
Streets Of Rage will be the latest project under dj2 Entertainment’s belt, following Sonic the Hedgehog 2‘s impressive box office performance .dj2 signed an overall deal with Amazon earlier in the year and also is looking to adapt The Game Awards winner It Takes Two for television and film.
In addition to Streets of Rage, Kolstad will write the upcoming heist thriller Just Watch Me, starring Gerard Butler.
In addition to writing Nobody, he recently served as a co-executive producer on Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.The fourth film in his John Wick franchise has been slated for release on March 24, 2023, following a delay imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kolstad is the latest John Wick creative to take on a video game adaptation.Also in the works is an adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima from Sony and PlayStation Productions.Chad Stahelski is directing from a scriptmby Takashi Doscher.
Kolstad is represented by Debbie Deuble Hill and APA; dj2 Entertainment by APA.
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