Not content to drag their venerable franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog through the mud, SEGA is hoping to drag them through film and television, too. Like there’s a difference!
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According to Variety, the former rival to Nintendo has hired on Evan Cholfin to direct efforts in adapting several properties into non-video game mediums, such as film and tv. SEGA has quite a library to choose from and has already decided on five projects to move forward with as either live-action or animated series or movies.
Don’t worry, none of them involve that blue hedgehog who is still trying to relive his glory days from back in high school.
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No timetable as to when or how these adaptations will come. So, what games from your childhood can you expect to see on large and small screens? We’ll list them below and also offer our extremely professional opinion as to how they can be adapted.
Altered Beast - a 1988 beat em up that found a small cult following (and is now available on mobile), the game begins with the kidnapping of Zeus’s daughter, Athena. In his grief and rage, Zeus resurrects a fallen Roman centurion and bestows upon him the power to transform into great beasts - Werewolf, Werebear, Weredragon, Weretiger and the ballin Golden Werewolf. You travel to the underworld to defeat a demon named Neff.
Obviously, this has Sam Worthington written all over it. Hell, make it a spin-off Clash of the Titans movie. Better yet, go back in time and remake Wrath of the Titans, keep Worthington and Liam Neeson and you’ll have instant money. This calls for mid-level budgeting and an early spring or mid-autumn release date. It can’t compete with the big boys, but if you get someone with enough vision, you can create a new cult favorite like Riddick or Dredd. What’s Len Wiseman up to?
If Tom Mison from Sleepy Hollow is looking to venture into films, he’ll be perfect.
Streets Of Rage - the 1991 Genesis title followed three ex-police officers as they sought to take down a corrupted city. The action takes front and center, so there’s only one man for the job when you need urban one on one combat: Gareth Evans, the director of both Raid movies (and two of the finest, bone-crunchingest movies in the past five years). All you need are some guys who can at least emote fairly well, but martial arts prowess is key here.
Best part, you can absolutely make it a trilogy.
Crazy Taxi - this one seems the most open to a television series. I don’t think live action is the way to go, as the bright colors and blatant disregard for physics and traffic laws makes it a tad ridiculous to do live action. All for it though. You can have a quirky driver who gets involved in all sorts of zany adventures week to week along with his crew of cabbie friends. Think of animated, funnier version of Taxi. I’m sure Troy Baker and Nolan North are available for the voice work.
Rise of Nightmares - this could be a great little horror film. Because train mysteries are great, and when a train derails and you start seeing weird terrors, it’s even better. Based on the 2011 Kinect game, Rise of Nightmares follows a husband in a deteriorating marriage on a vacation to Romania. When the train they’re riding crashes, the man’s wife is abducted by a strange and imposing figure and he has to work through his issues in order to save her. It could be a gritty little low budget horror fest like 2007’s underappreciated Vacancy. Plus, I hear the tax breaks in Romania are pretty great for film-makers. What are the Saw guys up to?
And finally, Shinobi. Perhaps one of the most recognizable series SEGA has produced, Shinobi can in any direction, but chances are simple it will be the following ‘master ninja is last surviving member after his clan was murdered by villainous demons and he seeks revenge’. We don’t need much more in our ninja movies beyond that. Plus one if you cast an up and coming Asian actor in the role. If successful, could definitely lead to a new series of mid-level tentpole action films.
SEGA also has options on both Golden Axe and Virtua Fighter. The first could be a Legend of the Seeker-esque fantasy series (we can’t all be Game of Thrones after all), while the second could go in any number of directions, though honestly I would go a web series personally. High quality, polished, but still short. Tournament games aren’t always the best when it comes to storytelling.
What do you think Mr. Cholfin should do for these franchises? Tell us below in the comments!