Streets of Rage Movie Dumps John Wick Writer for Sonic Duo

Ten years. Sega first announced plans to bring Streets of Rage to the big screen a full decade ago, and the project has been stuck in various stages of development hell ever since. Now, according to Variety, the live-action adaptation has a new director and a completely new writing team, with Derek Kolstad out and the Sonic the Hedgehog duo of Pat Casey and Josh Miller stepping in.

Kolstad, best known for creating the John Wick franchise, wrote an early draft of the screenplay back in 2022 when Lionsgate acquired the film rights. He remains attached as a producer, but Casey and Miller are taking over the script. The pair wrote all three Sonic the Hedgehog movies, which have collectively grossed over $1.2 billion at the box office, and they're returning for the fourth installment in 2027. Their track record with Sega IP specifically makes this feel less like a random swap and more like Lionsgate consolidating around writers who already know how to translate Sega properties into something that sells tickets.

More interesting to me is the director pick. Jeymes Samuel, who won a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut for The Harder They Fall, is now helming the project. Lionsgate president Erin Westerman cited Samuel's "visceral and explosive style" and "signature use of unforgettable music" as reasons for the hire. That last part matters. Streets of Rage lives and dies by its soundtrack; Yuzo Koshiro's electronic scores are half the reason people still care about the series. If Samuel can channel that energy into a film, this could actually work. If the music gets sidelined for generic action movie scoring, they've missed the point entirely.

Plot details, casting, and a release window are all still unknown. With a heavy rewrite expected, this one is years away from theaters. A new Streets of Rage game is also in development alongside Sega's reboots of Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, and Golden Axe.