While Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will speed into theaters this December, it's not the only movie adaptation of a Sega game on the way. In August, we reported on Sega's obscure fighting game Eternal Champions also getting the movie treatment with Jurassic World's Derek Connolly penning the script. Now we're learning of a third movie on the way that will adapt another Sega classic.
Universal Pictures announced that it is developing a movie adaptation of Sega's Shinobi. For those unfamiliar, Shinobi is a series of hack-and-slash games created by Sega. The first game in the franchise was released for arcades in 1987 and followed the ninja Joe Musashi as he stops the Zeed terrorist organization from kidnapping students of his clan. Ken Kobayashi (Sunny, Move On) is writing the screenplay adaptation of the arcade game.
The movie will be helmed by Sam Hargrave, a stuntman/actor who has turned to directing. He's best known for directing Netflix's action films Extraction and Extraction II, starring Chris Hemsworth. The first Extraction movie was Netflix's most-watched original film, racking up more than 99 million viewers in just the first four weeks. The sequel was the No. 1 movie on Netflix in 90 countries.
Shinobi is set to become a feature movie from Universal Pictures, directed by Sam Hargrave. pic.twitter.com/76rF6UAYG8
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) October 8, 2024
Hargrave is also attached to Matchbox for Mattel Films and Skydance and Kill Them All which is in development at Paramount Pictures.
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Universal Pictures has had great success with its videogame adaptations of late. In 2023, Universal released an adaptation of Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Created by Illumination, the CG-animated film grossed $1.36 billion worldwide, breaking multiple box office records including the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film, the grossing film based on a video game, and the first film based on a video game to gross over $1 billion.
A sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced earlier this year by Nintendo. It currently has a release date of April 3, 2026, in the United States.
Universal also found success with Blumhouse's Five Nights at Freddy's, a supernatural horror film based on the video game series of the same name created by Scott Cawthon. The movie was simultaneously released for streaming on Peacock and theatrically in the United States in October 2023.
Despite generally negative reviews from critics and the simultaneous release, Five Nights at Freddy's was a huge commercial success. It grossed $297.1 million to become Blumhouse's highest-grossing film worldwide. A sequel, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, is scheduled to be released on December 5, 2025.
