The adaptation of the cult video game Streets of Rage is moving forward, with a director who’s not half bad, and screenwriters who aren’t exactly reassuring.
For anyone who grew up in the 1990s with a Mega Drive, there were a few must-play titles. Sonic, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Shinobi, Quackshot… and, of course, Streets of Rage. The aim of this beat ’em up was simple: to clean up the crime-ridden streets of a city fallen into the hands of a master criminal named Mr. X (note the over-the-top imagination), taking down his horde of henchmen—ranging from the hoodlum to the gymnast, including the whip-wielding woman and the big Wolverine-type guy.
Autant dire que Streets of Rage était un pur plaisir, notamment grâce aux musiques fantastiques de Yuzo Koshiro et Motohiro Kawashima. Sans surprise, il y a donc eu Streets of Rage 2 en 1992 et Streets of Rage 3 en 1994, et même l’inespéré Streets of Rage 4 en 2020. Mais durant cette longue pause, la marque n’a cessé de passionner, d’où les épisodes et remake fanmade.
That said, Streets of Rage was pure joy, thanks in particular to the fantastic music by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. Unsurprisingly, there were Streets of Rage 2 in 1992 and Streets of Rage 3 in 1994, and even the unlikely Streets of Rage 4 in 2020. But during that long hiatus, the brand kept fans’ passion alive, hence fan-made installments and remakes.
C’est aussi pour ça que Hollywood essaye de porter Streets of Rage à l’écran depuis une dizaine d’années. And that’s also why Hollywood has been trying to bring Streets of Rage to the screen for about ten years.
STREETS OF RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
According to Variety, Lionsgate has assembled the team that will transform Streets of Rage into a film. Côté scénario, c’est moyennement rassurant : Pat Casey et Josh Miller, the duo behind the films Violent Night with David Harbour as Santa in a Viking-style Home Alone remake, and above all behind the Sonic films, which have become one of the most lucrative franchises in video game adaptations to cinema. Lionsgate didn’t have to look far.
On the directing front, it’s more interesting: Jeymes Samuel has been chosen to helm the street-brawl battles. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, that’s because he has directed only one feature, The Harder They Fall, which streamed on Netflix in 2021. This western with Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz and Regina King told the revenge of a man determined to find those who killed his parents before his eyes when he was a child.
If there is one thing that caught our eye in The Harder They Fall, it’s its direction. The split-screens, the polished photography and the ultra-choreographed fights, with a handful of standout moments like the train scene, the heist in the white city, or the climax. Jeymes Samuel, also known as the musician The Bullitts, and the brother of Seal, seems perfectly equipped for Streets of Rage.
Après The Harder They Fall, il a réalisé Le Livre de Clarence, l’histoire d’un habitant de Jérusalem qui, en l’an 29, essaye de s’enrichir en utilisant la popularité de ce fameux Jésus de Nazareth. Ce deuxième film est largement passé inaperçu en 2024 – il a atterri directement en VOD en France.
Le projet d’adaptation de ce classique de Sega traîne depuis une dizaine d’années. En 2016, des films Streets of Rage et Altered Beast étaient annoncés, mais ça n’avait pas été beaucoup plus loin. Ce n’est qu’en 2022 que la machine Streets of Rage a été relancée avec le studio Lionsgate, le succès hallucinant du premier film Sonic ayant donné des idées avec ses 320 millions de dollars au box-office, pour un budget inférieur à 100 millions.
Lionsgate avait alors engagé Derek Kolstad pour écrire le scénario, et le choix était on ne peut plus logique : il a écrit ou co-écrit les trois premiers John Wick, ainsi que Nobody et sa suite, et Normal, ce qui fait de lui l’expert actuel du film de castagne à Hollywood. C’est donc lui qui a posé les premières briques de l’adaptation.
Reste la grande question : qui pourrait incarner les héros et héroïnes bagarreurs ? Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding et Adam Hunter were the playable trio from the original Streets of Rage (preference for Blaze), but other characters like Max Thunder, Eddie Hunter (Adam’s brother) and Cherry Hunter (Adam’s daughter) joined the roster later. So there are choices if they decide to faithfully adapt the games.
