MOVIE NEWS – SEGA’s classic 1993 fighting game Eternal Champions is making its way to the big screen, and it’s being penned by none other than Derek Connolly, the mind behind hits like Jurassic World and Detective Pikachu.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, this live-action adaptation of SEGA’s Mega Drive/Genesis one-on-one fighter will be written by Connolly, who’s built a reputation for breathing new life into beloved franchises. His resume includes blockbuster titles like Jurassic World, Kong: Skull Island, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The upcoming film will be produced by Skydance, a studio that’s set to merge with Paramount Global next year. Skydance’s top brass, including David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger, will lead the production, while Toru Nakahara, the producer behind the successful Sonic the Hedgehog movies and the Knuckles TV show, will represent SEGA.

For those unfamiliar, Eternal Champions was a groundbreaking fighting game released in 1993 for the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis. The game featured a unique roster of fighters, each pulled from different eras of history, including a 1920s Chicago cat burglar, a vampire from 1967 Vietnam, and a cyber-kickboxer from a futuristic 2345 AD. The game’s story centers around the Eternal Champion, a mystical figure who foresees humanity’s demise due to the untimely deaths of these key figures throughout history. To prevent this, the Eternal Champion rescues these individuals from the brink of death, giving them a second chance—if they can win a brutal tournament to reclaim their lives.

The game’s sequel, released for the SEGA CD, expanded the roster with even more characters, such as a Wild West sheriff, an Egyptian pharaoh, and a pirate from the 1500s.

Eternal Champions is just one of several SEGA properties getting the Hollywood treatment. Other projects in the works include films based on Comix Zone, Space Channel 5, and Streets of Rage. Additionally, an animated Golden Axe series is coming to Comedy Central, and a live-action Like a Dragon: Yakuza series will hit Prime Video, with the first three episodes dropping on October 25.

Source: VideoGameChronicles