Let the fan-casting commence
Following on from the amazing success of its Sonic the Hedgehog movies, Sega is reportedly in the early stages of putting together a cinematic adaptation of its iconic beat-’em-up franchise, Streets of Rage.
According to the Tinseltown whisperers over at Deadline, there is already a fully optioned script for the adaptation, written by none other than Derek Kolstad, creator of the hi-octane John Wick action series. Kolstad surely knows his way around a few broken skulls or two, having also penned the brutal 2021 movie Nobody, which sees Bob Odenkirk portray a limb-snapping, nose-mashing, hitman-turned-family-man.
Assuming that Deadline’s sources are snug, then the Streets of Rage movie is likely some years out, as the project is seemingly yet to have found a director, producer, or even a production company. Still, it’s an exciting idea. And hopefully, a potential big-screen adaptation would fully embrace the spray paint and torn jeans aesthetic of the franchise ’90s roots, rather than HBO everything out with teary monologues and chin-stroking analogies.
While there is absolutely no problem in dramatically elevating your source content, I’d like to see a Streets of Rage flick that truly captures that old-school, down-and-dirty, retro aesthetic of the games. I want to see Max fighting in his wrestling gear, a dude firing a rocket launcher out of a police car, and Cherry throwing down with her guitar, ya dig?
We’ll be sure to send the lowdown your way should any official news be forthcoming. In the meantime, the awesome Streets of Rage 4 is available now on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
