Lionsgate is moving forward with its live-action Streets of Rage film with a new creative team in place. Director Jeymes Samuel, known for The Harder They Fall and The Book of Clarence, is set to helm the project alongside writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who previously worked on both live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films and the Violent Night franchise.

The announcement marks a shift in direction for the adaptation. John Wick franchise creator Derek Kolstad, who had written an earlier draft and was attached to produce, is no longer involved with the project.

The production team includes a mix of veteran video game adapters and industry veterans. Toru Nakahara, who produced the live-action Sonic films, will produce alongside Story Kitchen's Dmitri M. Johnson, Michael Lawrence Goldberg, Timothy I. Stevenson, and companies dj2 Entertainment and Escape Artists. dj2 Entertainment notably produced the recent Sonic adaptations, bringing their experience with video game-to-film translations to this project.

Streams of Rage, a side-scrolling beat-em-up series that debuted on Sega Genesis in 1991, has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games released Streets of Rage 4 in 2020 to critical acclaim, and Sega announced a new entry called Streets of Rage: Revolution in 2023.

Sega has been pursuing film and television adaptations of the franchise since at least 2016, originally partnering with Stories International and Circle of Confusion on the project. The timing of this new announcement suggests the studio has refined its approach and found a team it believes can capture the franchise's spirit for modern audiences.

With Samuel's track record handling action and character-driven narratives, combined with Casey and Miller's experience adapting beloved gaming properties for live-action, the film has notable creative credentials behind it. The project continues Hollywood's trend of developing video game intellectual property for film and television.