‘Streets of Rage’ film adaptation reportedly in the works
Popular beat ‘em up game Streets of Rage is officially getting a film adaptation.
According to sources by Deadline, Sega’s ’90s cult classic is getting its own film treatment, with script coming from John Wick franchise creator and Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody scribe Derek Kolstad.
Deadline said that Sonic producer dj2 Entertainment and Equalizer franchise’s Escape Artists will serve as producers of the upcoming project.
Other details about the upcoming film adaptation including casts, possible release window and storyline remain underwraps as of this writing.
The Streets of Rage adaptation will be dj2 Entertainment’s next project after the massively successful Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which made its theatrical debut on April 8, 2022.
The report said that the production company signed an overall deal with Amazon earlier this year and are also planning to adapt another popular game for film and television—Hazelight Studios' It Takes Two.
Kolstad, meanwhile, is currently working on heist thriller Just Watch Me with Gerard Butler in the role. Apart from Nobody, Kolstad also served as co-executive producer on Disney Plus’ Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
First released in 1991, Streets of Rage is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up game most notably known for its non-stop action as well as its electronic dance music scored by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima.
The beloved beat 'em up game that popularized the arcade genre follows the story of several former police vigilantes who are fighting a crime syndicate that corrupted a local government of a fictional city in the US.
Sega developed the first three installments in the video game franchise for the Sega Genesis and later got ported to other platforms. The recent entry, Dotemu’s Streets of Rage 4, was released in 2020, on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The recent game has five playable characters: Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, Adam Hunter, Cherry Hunter, and Floyd Iraia—Adam’s daughter who also happens to be Dr. Zan’s part-cybernetic apprentice.
Featuring hand-drawn visuals from the makers of 2017’s gorgeous Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap remake, the latest entry builds upon the classic trilogy’s gameplay with new mechanics, a fresh story and a gauntlet of dangerous stages with a serious crime problem.
Following the success of Streets of Rage 4, a DLC titled Mr. X Nightmare was released last year. The DLC introduced three new fan-favorite fighters: Estel Aguirre, Max Thunder, Shiva.
Apart from that, the DLC also comes with a unique Survival mode, which challenges players to elevate and prove their true capabilities through special tests of skill.
The game immediately received positive reviews from the gaming community following its debut, with over 2.5 million copies sold worldwide.