John Wick Creator’s Long-Awaited Video Game Movie Hits a Major Setback After Four Years
Four years after its announcement, the Streets of Rage movie from John Wick creator Derek Kolstad has hit the brakes, with the adaptation now on hold and its future uncertain.
Video game fans, brace. The Streets of Rage movie that sounded like a sure-thing brawler is now parked in the weirdest spot: paused, but not dead.
Where Streets of Rage stands
Derek Kolstad — the guy who launched John Wick — says his Streets of Rage film is, in his words,
'actively inactive.'
Translation: it exists, he poured time into it, the script is ready to throw hands, and yet the project is idling. It remains parked at Lionsgate, and there has been barely any movement in recent months.
What Kolstad cooked up
Kolstad still sounds energized about what he wrote. His elevator pitch is laser-specific, and very fun for action nerds:
'I always talk about it as 16 Blocks by way of The Raid. So, once you hit page 17, there's no letting up until page 101.'
That is a lot of elbows and stairwell fights packed into 84 pages of second-act chaos. He also admitted the radio has gone quiet lately, but his affection for the project hasn't dimmed:
'I haven't heard anything about it for a while, but I love it.'
How we got here
This one first grabbed headlines in 2022, when Lionsgate scooped it up from the producing team tied to the Sonic the Hedgehog films. Kolstad had written the script on spec — no studio deal in place — and that passion pass apparently did the trick. Four years later, though, the movie hasn't kicked into full production.
The game DNA they're adapting
Streets of Rage is Sega's side-scrolling beat-em-up classic about a city swallowed by crime under the rule of the very on-the-nose villain Mr. X. You play as straight-ahead, crowd-clearing heroes like Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding, turning alleys into woodchippers one combo at a time. The series built a sturdy cult following in the 90s, and that love got a fresh shot in the arm when Streets of Rage 4 arrived and reminded everyone how satisfying a clean uppercut can be.
The near-term outlook
Right now, the project sits at Lionsgate, with a punchy, relentless script and a creator who wants to see it throw down. Until the studio makes a move, though, Streets of Rage is waiting for its green light.
- Status: 'actively inactive' at Lionsgate, minimal movement in recent months
- Writer: Derek Kolstad (John Wick), still enthusiastic about his script
- Pitch/tone: 16 Blocks meets The Raid, nonstop action from page 17 to 101
- Origin: Script written on spec; Lionsgate picked it up in 2022 from producers tied to Sonic the Hedgehog
- Game basics: Sega beat-em-up about heroes (Axel, Blaze) taking on crime boss Mr. X; fanbase boosted by Streets of Rage 4