Video game movie fever continues unabated, with obscure Sega fighting game series Eternal Champions the latest to get its own live-action film.
Originally released in 1993, Eternal Champions was Sega’s answer to the popularity of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. It was heavily hyped for its graphics and enjoyed strong sales, even receiving a sequel on the Sega CD, but it was ultimately axed because Sega reportedly wanted to focus on promoting Virtual Fighter in the U.S.
Since then, Eternal Champions has fallen into obscurity as the publisher (and the world) has largely moved on. Now though, it’s getting its own movie.
According to THR, Jurassic World writer Derek Connolly is set to pen a live-action version of Eternal Champions for Skydance. Toru Nakahara, who oversees the Sonic movies, will act as one of the film’s producers. Not much is known for the plot, but it will presumably follow that of the game, which sees a god-like Eternal Champion try to restore balance to the world with a martial arts tournament featuring characters drawn from throughout history.
Some of its numerous heroes include Dawson, a sherriff from the American Wild West, a pirate named Riptide, and a chicken from Vietnam named Crispy. It will presumably try to capture some of the appeal of the Mortal Kombat films, which draw from a similar time period in gaming history and remain nostalgic favorites.
Aside from Eternal Champions, other games getting their own movies include The Legend of Zelda, Death Stranding, and Until Dawn, among others. Releases like Sega’s own Sonic movies have been a financial boon for Hollywood, but the trend is not without its risks. Borderlands, which released last week, was critically panned and a major bust at the box office.
We’ll see how Eternal Champions does when it eventually makes its way to theatres. It does not yet have a release date.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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