SEGA Developing a Live-Action Film Adaptation of the YAKUZA Video Game
SEGA is set to developing a live-action film adaptation of its hit 2005 video game Yakuza. 1212 Entertainment and Wild Sheep Content are on board to produce and the producer team is currently on the hunt for a writer to tackle the script.
The first game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu, who is released from a 10-year prison sentence after taking the fall for the murder of his family’s patriarch. “After the entire Japanese underworld is pulled into the search for $100 million stolen from the vault of his former clan, Kiryu is forced back into the lawless world of the yakuza.”
This was a great game that told a great character-driven noir story set in the moody nightlife districts of Japan. The game also made sure to incorporate the real aspects of the Yakuza, including its history, code of ethics, criminal enterprises and unique characteristics.
1212 said in a statement:
“Yakuza offers us a new playground in which to set compelling stories with complex characters in a unique environment that audiences have rarely seen before. The saga of Kazuma Kiryu has a built-in cinematic appeal – a mix of kinetic action with bursts of comedy, multiple converging storylines, and a gripping journey towards redemption.”
I only ever played the original game, and I was a big fan, so I can’t wait to see the story brought to life as a feature film.
Source: Variety