Fifteen years since launching into video game franchise fruition prior to a 2007 live-action take from Takashi Miike, fans of the Ryu Ga Gotoku (Like A Dragon) franchise are officially on deck to a new feature film offering, according to Variety’s Dave McNary.
Per the report, Sega is partnering with 1212 Entertainment (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark) and Wild Sheep to develop the action crime thriller based on the hit game, which follows the exploits of gangster Kiryu Kazuma, fresh out from a ten-year stint in prison and ultimately forced back into the Yakuza underworld to take care of business.
Erik Barmack (Sacred Games, The Rain), Roberto Grande and Joshua Long are producing the film while the search commences for writers.
“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,” 1212 said. “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.”
Barmack said, “With our background in telling global stories, we are excited to bring this huge project to global platforms.”
Aforementioned auteur Miike erected his own take for Toei with 2007’s Like A Dragon: The Movie, released by Toei with actor Kazuki Kitamura in the role of Kiryu, which premiered by 2008 for the New York Asian Film Festival.
To date, Sega has since launched its eighth game installment, “Yakuza: Like A Dragon“, featuring new characters and a new premise. The game is currently available in Japan, and is expected to release worldwide this November on Xbox, Windows and Playstation 5.
More at Variety.
Lead image source here.