EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has acquired the feature adaptation of hit Sega video game Streets of Rage, which John Wick franchise creator and scribe Derek Kolstad is writing. He also is producing alongside the videogame brand’s Toru Nakahara; dj2 Entertainment’s Dmitri M. Johnson, Timothy I. Stevenson and Dan Jevons; and Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Tony Shaw.

Deadline first told you about the project.

Streets of Rage was one of the most popular videogame franchises of the ’90s, with Sega publishing three games between 1991 and 1994. In 2020, the long-awaited fourth game in the series was released to rave reviews and became a bestseller.

Brady Fujikawa and Jon Humphrey are shepherding the project for Lionsgate, with Shuji Utsumi and Nakahara overseeing for Sega, Johnson overseeing for dj2 Entertainment and Shaw steering for Escape Artists.

Kolstad said: “When Dmitri first mentioned the idea of cracking a Streets of Rage movie, I was so immediately freaking in. And to play with Sega? The 10-year-old me is still grinning.”

Erin Westerman, President of Production at Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, added, “The game has a rich world and narrative, and we’re thrilled to be reuniting with Derek to bring it to life.”

Nakahara, who produced the $722M-plus global grossing Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and is the executive producer of Sonic Prime, said: “Lionsgate is one of the most dynamic studios in the entertainment industry today. We look forward to working with them, Derek and our all-star producers to bring this compelling IP to life.”

Johnson added: “I’ve wanted to make a Streets of Rage film since I was 12 years old. This has shaped up to become a ‘dream project’ alongside a ‘dream team.’”

The deal was negotiated by Phil Strina for Lionsgate; by Toru Nakahara for Sega; by APA and CDAS for dj2; by APA, Circle of Confusion & Behr Abramson Levy Johnson for Kolstad; and by David Bloomfield for Escape Artists.