With the hit Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, films based on Eternal Champions and Streets of Rage, not to mention the upcoming Amazon series Like a Dragon: Yakuza, SEGA is becoming Hollywood’s go-to video game company. And now another of SEGA’s most iconic titles is coming to the big screen, as Deadline reports a movie based on the classic ninja game Shinobi is in the works.
Universal has set Extraction director Sam Hargrave to direct a Shinobi movie, with Ken Kobayashi (Sunny, Hit-Monkey) on the screenplay. First released to arcades in 1987, Shinobi followed modern-day ninja Joe Musashi, one of SEGA’s iconic mascots, as he battled terrorist organization Zeed from kidnapping his clan’s students. The Shinobi games spawned multiple sequels, including the popular Shadow Dancer games and the Alex Kidd in Shinobi World spinoff. Pretty sure I’ve played them all.
The most recent game was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011. A new game was announced in 2023.
Hargrave is the former stuntman-turned-filmmaker who followed in the footsteps of David Leitch with the Netflix action films Extraction and Extraction 2, both huge titles for the streamer. He’s got a lot on his plate with a Matchbox movie starring John Cena, and the action film Kill Them All, along with another Extraction sequel.
Seriously, it’s almost like the SEGA vs. Nintendo war has moved to a new battlefield.
