Derek Kolstad and Lionsgate already have a great working relationship thanks to the “John Wick” franchise. And that series shows no signs of slowing down, with “John Wick: Chapter 4” hitting theaters on March 24, 2023 and two spinoffs, Les Wiseman‘s “Ballerina” with Ana de Armas and the Starz prequel “The Continental,” also on the way. But it looks like Kolstad has something else he’s cooking up with Lionsgate, too.
Deadline reports Kolstad will pen the script for “Streets Of Rage,” Lionsgate’s upcoming feature film adaptation of the Sega Genesis brawler video game from the 1990s. The video game follows several ex-police vigilantes as they try to rid their fictional American metropolis Wood Oak City of a crime syndicate that’s corrupted the local government. Next to other beat-em-up games like Capcom‘s “Final Fight” and “Double Dragon,” “Streets Of Rage” is one of the brawler genre’s classic titles. So, expect this film to be a nostalgia trip.
Kolstad leads the producing team for “Streets Of Rage,” which also includes Toru Nakahara, Dmitri M. Johnson, Timothy I. Stevenson, Dan Jevons, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Tony Shaw. “When Dmitri first mentioned the idea of cracking a “Streets Of Rage” movie, I was so immediately freaking in. And to play with Sega? The 10-year-old me is still grinning,” Kolstad said in a press statement.
“Streets Of Rage” is one of several upcoming projects for Kolstad. He has two other video game adaptation projects on the way: a “Just Cause” movie for Constantin Films and a “Splinter Cell” project over at Netflix. Kolstad also has Jame Wan‘s time-travel pic “Hunting Season” the Prime Video action-comedy “Blue Coyote,” and a “Dungeons & Dragons” series for eOne coming up, too. The “D&D” series will complement the upcoming “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” with Chris Prine, finally out next year.
Derek Kolstad and a “Streets Of Rage” movie sounds like a match made in heaven. Expect the movie to hit theaters sometime in 2024.
