The timeless Shinobi games from the Sega Genesis, Game Gear, Gameboy Advance, and even the PlayStation 2 are making an unexpected return in the form of a live-action movie. The Shinobi project is being worked on by Sega and Universal Pictures, and it is a complete surprise to everyone.
According to Deadline, the movie will be directed by Sam Hargrave, who is known for his work on Extraction 1 and 2 on Netflix. Both movies were well-received, with the sequel having one of the best action scenes out there. The screenplay will be done by Ken Kobayashi who used to work on Apple TV+ as a writer and a producer for Sunny, a comedy series.
The producers for the Shinobi movie will be Adam Siegel and Marc Platt, who worked on Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Drive. Marc Platt also worked on La La Land, which was well-liked, and The Little Mermaid and Snow White, which were remakes of classic animated movies.
The Shinobi series had a ton of games back in the day, with the last one coming out in 2011 on the 3DS called Shinobi 3D which, unlike the PlayStation 2 version, was a 2D platformer with 3D graphics. The PS2 game was third-person and had its moments, even if it has been overshadowed by the plethora of amazing games on the platform.
A new Shinobi game is being worked on right now by Sega and was announced during last year’s The Game Awards. The trailer showed that more than one Sega classic was making a comeback in the form of remakes and reimaginings. The remakes include Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Crazy Taxi, and Shinobi.
Shinobi is set up for success as Sega has been going strong with the Sonic movies, and Universal is no stranger to video game adaptations like the Super Mario Movies, which became the second-highest-grossing movie of 2023 and the second-most successful animated movie of all time.
