News – Shinobi To Make Big Screen Debut

Sega have made no secrets of their plans to adapt some of their most popular retro franchises to the big screen. According to Sega, plans exist to potentially adapt famous franchises such as Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Altered Beast and even Crazy Taxi. However, it seems that within Sega’s treasure trove of IPs, Shinobi will actually be the first to receive a big screen adaption.

Sega’s Ninja franchise first began before the Mega Drive was even released, via the 1987 arcade game that was simple entitled Shinobi. This was then followed by another arcade title in Shadow Dancer, before Shinobi made its console debut in the 1989 Mega Drive / Genesis title The Revenge of Shinobi. However, despite being dormant since 2011’s Shinobi 3D, it seems that next up for Joe Misashi will be the silver screen, rather than a brand new game.

This announcement from Sega came earlier in the week, via their film and television production studio Stories International. Not only that, but they also announced that they even have a team of producers lined up. Two of which both share the video game inspired Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in their previous credits.

The first of these is Marc Platt, a man whose Producer credits include the likes of Into The Woods, Legally Blonde, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, alongside live productions of the Broadway musicals Wicked and Grease. Marc Platt will then be accompanied by both Wanted and Scott Pilgrim Executive Producer Adam Siegel, and Stories International President and CEO Tomoya Suzuki, when it comes to producing the unnamed Shinobi movie.

Video game adaptations have a somewhat sketchy past when it comes to getting big screen adaptions. However, Siegel isn’t letting this worry him or his team of producers. In fact, Siegel was actually far more keen to express his excitement for the project when it came to the upcoming production of the Shinobi movie.

We love the Shinobi games and believe that the world of ninjas has never been properly explored onscreen. We now have the opportunity to do just that. With Shinobi, we hope to make a film that honors the essence of the games and brings this fascinating world to life for moviegoing audiences.

So what do you think then? Does the announcement of either the movie adaption of Joe Misashi’s adventures, or the team of producers lined up excite you? Or would you just rather have seen a brand new game? Either way, Rings & Coins will make sure to keep you updated as soon as we get more information.