Sega is in talks to adapt the Yakuza games into a movie, according to a new report by Variety. What could go wrong?
Variety writes that Sega is currently working to develop the adaptation with the production firms 1212 Entertainment and Wild Sheep Content, which I’ve never heard of before. The two firms are still looking for script writers, while Roberto Grande, Joshua Long, and Erik Barmack (who produced on Netflix’s Dark), are set to produce.
The Yakuza series’ main protagonist is Kazuma Kiryu who has to navigate Japan’s crime world after a stint in prison following the death of his boss. There’s seven numbered games in the series and a bunch more spin-offs, and it’s not at all clear whether a movie would stick to one of the games or try to combine elements from several of them. Based on the fact that the project doesn’t even have a script yet, let alone script writers, it doesn’t sound like Sega knows either.
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Sega is also currently working on a sequel to this year’s Sonic movie, which did surprisingly well at the box office. Yakuza is much less well-known, though. “Yakuza offers us a new playground in which to set compelling stories with complex characters in a unique environment that audiences have rarely seen before,” a representative of 1212 Entertainment told Variety.
Lots of other gaming adaptations are also currently in the works, from a Borderlands movie starring Cate Blanchett to a Resident Evil TV show on Netflix. Given how long the Uncharted movie has been in the works, who knows when any of them will actually come out.
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