Universal Pictures and SEGA Corporation are teaming up on a feature film adaptation of the video game franchise “Shinobi,” the companies announced on Tuesday. Sam Hargrave, the filmmaker behind Netflix’s “Extraction” films, is attached to direct the “Shinobi” movie from a screenplay by Ken Kobayashi (“Sunny”).
The “Shinobi” series first debuted in 1987 as an arcade game and follows protagonist Joe Musashi as a modern-day ninja who confronts great evil. The franchise spans 14 games, including spinoffs, and ports, with over 5 million copies sold worldwide. A new entry in the series was revealed in late 2023.
The film comes on the heels of Universal’s video game adaptation success with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed over $1.4 billion at the box office, and hit “Five Nights at Freddy’s” which made $290 million on a budget of just $20 million. Universal is also developing an adaptation of the video game “Ruiner” with “Planet of the Apes” director Wes Ball.
Hargrave got his start as a stunt coordinator and actor before becoming an in-demand second-unit director on films like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Deadpool 2.” He made his feature directorial debut with the Chris Hemsworth-fronted Netflix film “Extraction” in 2020 and returned to direct the sequel, which was released in 2023.
Marc Platt and Adam Siegel will produce “Shinobi” through Marc Platt Productions. Dmitri M. Johnson will produce through Story Kitchen. Toru Nakahara will produce through SEGA. Mike Goldberg will executive produce alongside Timothy I. Stevenson, who is co-producing.
The last “Shinobi” title was released in 2011 on Nintendo DS.
Hargrave is repped by WME and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher, LLP.
Kobayashi is repped by CAA, Redefine Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP.
Marc Platt Productions is repped by Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris.
Story Kitchen is repped by WME and Pryor Cashman.
Toru Nakahara negotiated on behalf of SEGA.
Universal’s Senior Vice President of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Production Development Christine Sun will oversee the project for the Studio.
