Extraction Director Sam Hargrave is developing an adaptation of Sega’s Shinobi Video game franchise. First released as an arcade game in 1987, Shinobi Sits in the hack and slash genre, with Joe Musashi serving as the franchise’s main character in many installments. The overarching storyline of many of the games sees Joe facing off against Zeed, an evil ninja crime syndicate. There are now 12 Shinobi games in total, with thirteen on the way.
now, Universal Pictures reveals that they are partnering with Sega to bring a Shinobi Movie to live. Hargrave, who directed both Extraction (2020) and Extraction 2 (2023), is attached to direct the project, with Ken Kobayashi (Sunny) set to write the screenplay.
Marc Platt and Adam Siegel will produce the film through Marc Platt Productions, while Dmitri M. Johnson will produce for Story Kitchen. For Sega, Toru Nakahara will produce. Mike Goldberg will executive produce the Shinobi Film, with Timothy I. Stevenson co-producing. For Universal, Senior Vice President of Product Development Ryan Jones and Director of Product Development Christine Sun will oversee the project. There’s no release date for the title yet, but it’s clearly early days, meaning it likely won’t arrive for several years.
What the New Shinobi Movie Means for Sega
The video game company’s reach is expanding
with a Shinobi movie currently in development, The video game company has the potential to become an even bigger figure in the world of Hollywood entertainment. The company has already partnered with Paramount Pictures for the Sonic the Hedgehog films, both of which were massively successful. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 releases later this year, and a Knuckles Spinoff Show is now streaming on Paramount+.
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In addition to Sonic the Hedgehog, Another Sega adaptation is on the way in the form of Like a Dragon: Yakuzawhich is in development at Prime Video. The upcoming series is, of course, based on the Sega Yakuza Games that stretch back to 2005. If both the Yakuza And Shinobi Projects are hot, these can become major franchises just like that Sonic the HedgehogMeaning there could be a lot of Sega movies and TV shows in the next few years.
Our take on the Shinobi adaptation
with these Extraction films, Hargrave has proven to be one of the most exciting directors working in action today, making him a great fit for a Shinobi Film. Since Hargrave is a former stunt performer, just like that John Wick Director Chad Stahelski obviously knows how to make action look great on screen, and hack and slash action is basically the whole draw of the Shinobi Video games.
With Hargrave’s next project seemingly an action movie called Kill them allThe Shinobi Movie may not be arriving anytime soon. While there may be a bit of a wait for this Sega adaptation, it certainly looks to be in good hands.
Source: Universal Pictures