Sega Adapting Two Strange Games Into Movies
Flush with cash and confidence from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega is going to turn two pretty weird games into movies.
Following the massive success of 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog, and its sequel, 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sega, the IP owner behind the hits, is now pulling other IPs from its bag and lining them up for adaptation into Sega movies nobody asked to see. Still, considering the history of video games and their cinematic adaptations, we can’t help but wonder which titles Sega is going to use to disappoint gaming fans around the world. And the answer is Comix Zone and Space Channel 5.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, following Sonic’s massive success on the silver screen, Sega has teamed up with Picturestart, the banner behind the upcoming Borderlands movie — starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black — to adapt the aforementioned gaming titles into Sega movies. Admittedly, these games aren’t among those that immediately come to mind as something that would adapt well into films, but from the looks of it, Sega is going all out on these strange gaming titles, probably hoping to pick the same amount of green from the money tree as it did with Sonic.
Comix Zone, which will be rewritten into Zone by Mae Catt, is actually an adaptation of a 1995’s console game that follows a starving artist and freelance rock musician on his journey to defeat a villain who escaped from the comic books. However, the Sega movie will follow a jaded comic book creator and a young, queer writer of color, who are both sucked into the final issue of their popular comic book series. Of course, they must put their differences aside and work together to stop the supervillain from sowing death and destruction.
Space Channel 5, a 1999’s music video game featuring rhythm-based combat, is also getting a name change. The comedy/dance adaptation will be name Channel 5 and will follow the story of a fast-food worker recruited by a reporter from the future to save the world from alien invasion. And the only weapon in the protagonist’s arsenal is one thing that unites all of humanity: our affinity for virtual dancing.
We have to admit, these Sega movies don’t sound as very promising cinematic adaptations of gaming titles, but then again, whoever read the baseline description of Sonic — and anthropomorphic blue hedgehog must run fast to save the world from an evil scientist with a funny mustache — must’ve thought the same. That’s because, while these games were insanely popular with the contemporary crowds, they haven’t really stuck around on the gaming scene, except for Sonic, whose latest game suffered some post-launch issues.
Another reason for skepticism is a very poor history between video games and their cinematic adaptations — most of which (up in the 90th percentile) are horrible things to experience. And that’s with the acknowledgment of the inherent limitations of film as a medium for gaming narratives. But let’s not burst anyone’s bubble; Sega pulled off a successful film adaptation not once but twice in two years. Who’s to say that the upcoming Sega movies won’t be as massive hits as both Sonic films were — so big that they’re getting a sequel.
