Streets of Rage script from the writer of John Wick - cops beat the hell out of hoodlums for 90 minutes

[frozenrunner]

So, this is apparently early in the works.

Classic '90s beat-'em-up Streets of Rage is set to knuckle up as a movie from the creator of the John Wick movies.

Having created the Keanu Reeves-starring action series, writer Derek Kolstad isn't involved in the forthcoming John Wick 4 (which is delayed until March 2023). Some people would use the time off to crash on the sofa playing video games, but Kolstad apparently went one better and wrote a big-screen version of the iconic Sega side-scrolling game.


Video game movie adaptations just won't go away, huh? There's a long history of iconic games turned into terrible movies. The recent Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City didn't exactly set the world alight, but the Uncharted adaptation with Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (in theaters now) this year tussled to be the biggest ever game movies. So the console-to-silver-screen pipeline well probably isn't drying up any time soon. And sometimes a combination of subject and filmmaker comes along that makes you think, y'know what? That'll work.

Streets of Rage 2 was a pillar of the Genesis lineup.
Sega/Screenshot by GameSpot

Developed by Sega, the first game came out for its Genesis console in 1991, spawning two '90s sequels -- Streets of Rage 2 is playable on Nintendo Switch Online -- followed by a belated Streets of Rage 4 in 2020. Sega and dj2 Entertainment (the production company behind the Sonic movies) are developing the movie, Deadline reports, which Kolstad wrote as a spec script. Sega and dj2 Entertainment didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Streets of Rage story is simple and flexible enough for a film adaptation to flesh out the story while keeping the ass-kicking spirit. The original game followed badass cops Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding as they punched and kicked their way through hordes of 16-bit ninjas and other criminals.
Kolstad also wrote the acclaimed Bob Odenkirk action flick Nobody and co-produced Marvel's Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Let's hope his movie versions finds room for plenty of button-bashing baddie-beating, not to mention appearances from the game's brilliantly named characters, like Max Thunder, Skate and Dr. Zan.

Eh... I guess this could be a fun, exciting action movie, a la The Raid? But it would have to throw out all but the basic premise of the games. At least the right guy wrote the script? (Which is oviously the least important thing about a fucking Streets of Rage film adaptation, but anyway...)

 

[Book Thief]

I can't wait to see how Woke Hollywood fucks up a franchise in which the diversity quota was already built-in 30 years ago. Perhaps Blaze will be reimagined as a bull-faced troon-dyke, and there will be blatant ACAB propaganda everywhere since the backstory of the original games was that the police were corrupt as shit.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

It'll be awful like most movies have been for a while now. If it features the music from the games prominently I might bother to pirate it.

 

[Travoltron]

If they need a token homosexual, why not use Ash?

https://streetsofrage.fandom.com/wiki/Ash

 

[Kuchipatchi]

Oh no! If it gets made, pleeeeeeaaaaase be good, I'm begging you!

And have Shiva in it, he's my favourite character. Only if it's good. I don't want him to be disgraced.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

Blaze played by Heidi Moneymaker

 

[Red Hood]

If we're doing Sega movies now, just make a shared universe with SOR/Shinobi/Shenmue. All set during the 80's and 90's. Following the Streets of Rage story the cop that launched rockets from his car retires to drive a CRAZY TAXI. Yes I'm retarded, why do you ask?

 

[Product Placement]

Guy also wrote Nobody which was pretty good. Streets of Rage is a hard one to fuck up, just got to get the look right and use music from the game with good action.

Not saying it can't be fucked up, just have to go out of your way to do it, really doesn't even need much of a story.

 

[BrunoMattei]

I like how the fags appear and say "DER! HOLLYWOOD GOING WOKE AGAIN DER!" Have you morons, idiots, schmucks, nincompoops ever seen the John Wick movies or Nobody? They're the farthest thing from woke.

FFS, take your heads out of your ass. This isn't the A&H board. Sheesh.

That all said. Streets of Rage movie? Fine. Great. A little late but okay. I don't think you can replicate that sleazy inner city aesthetic from the games but I trust the John Wick guy over anyone else.

 

[frozenrunner]

If we're doing Sega movies now, just make a shared universe with SOR/Shinobi/Shenmue. All set during the 80's and 90's. Following the Streets of Rage story the cop that launched rockets from his car retires to drive a CRAZY TAXI. Yes I'm retarded, why do you ask?

I didn't know we needed a "Sega cinematic universe," but I'm totally fine with that.

 

[Product Placement]

I like how the fags appear and say "DER! HOLLYWOOD GOING WOKE AGAIN DER!" Have you morons, idiots, schmucks, nincompoops ever seen the John Wick movies or Nobody? They're the farthest thing from woke.

FFS, take your heads out of your ass. This isn't the A&H board. Sheesh.

That all said. Streets of Rage movie? Fine. Great. A little late but okay. I don't think you can replicate that sleazy inner city aesthetic from the games but I trust the John Wick guy over anyone else.

Wouldn't say a little late, seems Streets of Rage 4 which weirdly Sega didn't publish or fund was a hit and very well reviewed.

 

[frozenrunner]

Wouldn't say a little late, seems Streets of Rage 4 which weirdly Sega didn't publish or fund was a hit and very well reviewed.

Yeah, but you can imagine how very "80/90s action movie" a film like this could be, and that makes it a little weird they didn't try it back when the original games were big.

BrunoMattei is right, though. This screenwriter doesn't do politically correct stuff, so it's in good hands from that angle. I just don't expect the end product to be all that faithful as an "adaptation," because what is there to adapt? Character names, a basic situation, a tone, and a sound. It can be anything else it wants to be outside of that.

EDIT: Pointless sperging, but lol @ this old Japanese poster for SoR2.

- Arnie in the background as Mr. X
- Jean Claude van Damme as Axle
- Martin Lawrence as Skate
- Dolph Lundgren as Max
- some random model (?) as Blaze

SoR has always been close to Hollywood! I miss the days when nobody cared and you could just do stuff like that.

 

[Lone MacReady]

It'll be awful like most movies have been for a while now. If it features the music from the games prominently I might bother to pirate it.

Yeah, when the games have the composer credited on the title screen you know they gave focus to the OST.

 

[Weeb_Killer]

If they go for an ultra cheesy depiction with an 80's aesthetic, I reckon it could be a winner. If they try to make it a serious action flick, it'll just blend into the background with the rest of the mediocre, generic, grey and dull action flicks of the past two decades.

 

[eternal dog mongler]

Wouldn't say a little late, seems Streets of Rage 4 which weirdly Sega didn't publish or fund was a hit and very well reviewed.

Yeah I would say it's well-timed considering people who grew up playing Streets of Rage have a bunch of disposable income now.

There's gonna be Funko Pops mark my words and despair.

 

[Bumwine]

As much I think a TV show like "Gangs of London" would work better, the first SoR is perfectly doable as a love letter to late 80's/early 90's action flick (hell go all in and set it in '91/'92) : pack it with tight action scenes and badass dance/house music and you have a winner.

Yeah, but you can imagine how very "80/90s action movie" a film like this could be, and that makes it a little weird they didn't try it back when the original games were big.

BrunoMattei is right, though. This screenwriter doesn't do politically correct stuff, so it's in good hands from that angle. I just don't expect the end product to be all that faithful as an "adaptation," because what is there to adapt? Character names, a basic situation, a tone, and a sound. It can be anything else it wants to be outside of that.

EDIT: Pointless sperging, but lol @ this old Japanese poster for SoR2.

View attachment 3198851
- Arnie in the background as Mr. X
- Jean Claude van Damme as Axle
- Martin Lawrence as Skate
- Dolph Lundgren as Max
- some random model (?) as Blaze

SoR has always been close to Hollywood! I miss the days when nobody cared and you could just do stuff like that.

The developers of SoR2 spent almost of their after work time partying and going to clubs, a far cry to the pompous assholes we have today

 

[Calandrino]

Yeah I would say it's well-timed considering people who grew up playing Streets of Rage have a bunch of disposable income now.

There's gonna be Funko Pops mark my words and despair.

There are far more movies based on 80s/90s video games now than there were at the time.

 

[Shroom King]

It will be dangerously based and set during the BLM riots.

Just imagine...

In the opening scene, Skate and Adam are killed trying to protect their neighborhood by BLM shitheads. This causes Max, Blaze, Axel, Ash and Roo to go on a murderous rampage where they kill every single BLM protester they can get their hands on.

Mr. X can be played by a George Soros look-alike. Zamza can be a tranny just to piss off the LGBT crowd.

 

[SamTheEagle]

I didn't know we needed a "Sega cinematic universe," but I'm totally fine with that.

Sonic 3's credits roll, then-
"Dr. Robotnik, my name is Mr. X. My associate and I have a proposition for you."
Death Adder glowers menacingly and spins the Golden Axe.
-credits continue. And then-
We see pages of comic book sketches on a desk. They rustle, but there's no wind. Then the sketched supervillain, Mortus of Comix Zone, turns to face the audience and grins evilly.

Speaking of which, I'd love an R-rated Golden Axe movie, plus a Comix Zone movie that takes inspiration from Spiderverse's animation style.

 

[Dysnomia]

Mark my words, Blaze will be black and they will go out of their way to make sure she doesn't titillate "muh male gaze".