Published , by Blake Morse
Published , by Blake Morse
It looks like the Sonic the Hedgehog films were just the start of Sega’s plans to go Hollywood. Today the company announced that they would be partnering with media company Picturestart to bring two more classic Sega franchises to the big screen. It would appear that we are now getting film adaptations of Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone.
The news comes straight from Sega via a press release that gives a brief synopsis of what each film will be about. Space Channel 5 is described as “a comedy/dance adaptation of the cult-classic 1999 dance game, will tell the story of a hapless fast-food worker who is recruited by a freedom reporter from the future to save the world from aliens using the one thing that unites all people on the planet: our love of silly viral dances.” It seems likely that either the freedom fighter or food worker will end up being the game’s iconic leading lady Ulala, but it’s hard to say anything for sure at this early stage in the film’s development.
Comix Zone originally released on Sega Genesis in the US in 1995 and, while it has shown up in a number of classic Sega games collections, it is the only game in the franchise’s history. It took place in a comic book that players had been sucked into and they had to brawl their way out page by page, which gave the beat’em-up a unique art style. It would appear that the film will not stray far from the game’s core concept but will update the narrative for modern times. The press release describes the Comix Zone film as “an adaptation of the cult console game that has been so influential to so many over the years, follows a jaded comic book creator and a young, queer writer of color who, when sucked into the final issue of his popular series, must put aside their differences to stop a dangerous supervillain from sowing complete destruction — and in the process wittily explore the ever-evolving power of storytelling itself.”
So far the first two Sonic movies have done well for Sega, so seeing them move forward with new films inspired by their other IPs makes sense and Picturestart is already involved with the upcoming Borderlands film, so they have some experience with video game franchises as well. These are certainly interesting picks though. Now if only they’d announce a Golden Axe movie. Right now both the Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone films are in the early stages of production and planning, so we’ll be sure to keep you up to date with more details on both as they become available.