The producer of Sonic the Hedgehog has announced a Streets of Rage film adaptation

Dmitri Johnson, producer of the Sonic film adaptations and co-founder of Story Kitchen, has revealed that he has finally started working on a project he has long dreamed of — a Streets of Rage movie.

Johnson admitted that when he pitched Sega on the first film about the blue hedgehog many years ago, he was already planning to one day get to an adaptation of the cult beat ’em up series. He noted that Story Kitchen chooses gaming franchises for adaptation largely out of personal affection. He called Streets of Rage a clear example of that approach.

Johnson has not revealed any details about the project yet. According to him, news about the film will arrive “soon” and will be connected to “impressive talent.” The producer also separately praised the Streets of Rage 2 soundtrack, calling it “the greatest soundtrack in video game history.”

The Streets of Rage film adaptation was first announced back in 2022. At the time, Deadline reported that Lionsgate had acquired the film rights, while the script was being written by Derek Kolstad, the creator of John Wick.

Story Kitchen is currently working on a whole range of video game adaptations. The company’s project slate includes Tomb Raider, Shinobi, ToeJam & Earl, Sleeping Dogs, Vampire Survivors, Sifu, It Takes Two, Split Fiction, and other gaming franchises.

Streets of Rage is a cult beat ’em up series by Sega that launched in 1991 on the Mega Drive. The games followed heroes fighting crime on the streets of a fictional American metropolis. The first three entries in the franchise were developed and published by Sega in the early 1990s, and were later ported and re-released on various platforms. The fourth installment, Streets of Rage 4, was released in 2020.

By the way, last year saw the launch of The Cursed Legacy—a fantastic action game reminiscent of 90s Sega Mega Drive and SNES classics. We’ve also put together a roundup of the best 2D platformers.

Would you like to see a Streets of Rage movie in the style of John Wick?