The Best Sega Video Game Is Finally Getting A Movie
For a while, it looked like video game adaptations would never make for good movies or television series. It always seemed like the live-action version came up well short of the original IP. But those days are gone, and we can finally trust some of the cool games to get cool flicks. And we sure hopes that’s the case with this latest news from Deadline that Sega’s Shinobi is getting the big-screen treatment. This could be a good one.
Shinobi Movie
The Shinobi live-action adaptation will come from Sam Hargrave, whose action chops could make for the perfect pairing.
Hargrave started as a stuntman but has worked his way into directing features starting with Netflix’s Extraction. The Chris Hemsworth starrer was a frenetic and bloody action romp that really never took its foot off the gas.
Originally A Sega Game
Shinobi originally came out on Sega in 1987, a simpler time in the video game lifecycle. In the game, your character, Joe Musashi, is a ninja intent on rescuing kidnapped children and taking down the Zeed criminal organization.
It was a left-to-right side-scrolling game with players kicking, punching, and slashing their way to glory. It had all the hallmarks of games like at the time, crouching, jumping, swinging and fighting through an increasingly difficult set of enemies and settings.
Other Shinobi Games Over The Years
There have been other Shinobi video games over the years, with Shadow Dancer coming out a few years later, as well as The Secret of Shinobi, The Silent Fury, and Return of the Ninja Master, among many others. Most recently, Shinobi was released on Nintendo 3DS in 2011. 14 versions of the game came out over a roughly 25-year stretch.
Universal With A Good Track Record
Universal is the studio behind the Shinobi video game adaptation and it isn’t their first. They helped facilitate The Super Mario Bros. Movie as well as Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Both of those were massive blockbusters at the box office. It’s hard to imagine Shinobi reaching the same heights, seeing as how the game’s name and brand recognition aren’t nearly as high as those two other titles. But it’s a good sign nonetheless.
Shinobi With A High Bar
While still not 100% great on the video game adaptation front, in addition to the movies above, there have been a few other notable entries lately. The Last of Us was among the best shows of the last few years and the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has been a welcome surprise as well.
Plus The Witcher, Arcane, Halo, and others have mostly understood the assignment. Let’s hope Shinobi can keep the good times rolling, maybe stepping in where some of the Mortal Kombat adaptations have failed.
Before Sam Hargrave brings us the Shinobi movie adaptation, he has The Last Frontier and Kill Them All in the works as well. The action on all of these could get dialed all the way up. And we are here for it. There is sure to be more news on Shinobi casting and story sooner than later.
Source: Deadline
