Sega recently announced that one of their most classic franchises is getting the big-screen treatment. Shinobi, the classic ninja side-scroller, now rests in the hands of producer Marc Platt, whose previous works include Drive and Scott Pilgrim vs The World. He’ll be developing the adaptation in conjunction with Sega’s subsidiary, Stories, International, an agency previously responsible for plenty of popular advertising campaigns. Adam Siegel, who has shared producing duties with Platt on many of the same movies in the past, will be joining along for the ride as well.
While no plot details have been shared quite yet–it is, after all, way too early for that–it could be that this movie will take on a brand new plot with brand new characters. In the announcement, Platt said, “We love the Shinobi games and believe that the world of ninjas has never been properly explored onscreen. We now have the opportunity to do just that. With Shinobi, we hope to make a film that honors the essence of the games.” I’m pretty sure that what Platt said about the world of ninjas onscreen applies mostly to American screens, or maybe I’m just giving him the benefit of the doubt here.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how they plan on tackling the world of Shinobi. For those of you unaware, the original game on Sega centered around a ninja named Joe Musashi. The storyline (just like more than a few other video game storylines of the time) was pretty lightweight; Joe enters into a quest to rescue his kidnapped students from terrorists. Fast forward to 2002 and the PlayStation Shinobi remake, and you find a bit more of a thicker plot, which revolves around another character, Hotsuma, and his quest to defeat the sorcerer Hiruko.
All this being said: please don’t cast a non-Japanese actor (or actress) as the main character. Sure, there’s plenty of other reasons one would (and probably should) remain dubious around a video game movie, but don’t make the same mistake as Ghost in the Shell and eliminate all faith one may have in the project. If Platt really wants to follow through on his statement that they want to make a film that honors the essence of the games, then he can start by making sure they cast the right person for the role. Please.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
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