The writer behind John Wick is developing a kung fu revenge project that packs a smart twist, based on the videogame Sifu.
It’s been announced that the popular martial arts brawler videogame, Sifu, is being adapted for the big screen. The indie title has picked up lots of admirers since its release, selling over a million copies in its first three weeks. The plot itself is nothing revolutionary, running thus: ‘Set in modern-day China, the revenge tale follows the student of a martial arts school’s master (Sifu) as he seeks to avenge the murder of his mentor.’
However, what makes the game stand out is a clever mechanic that ages the protagonist each time he is defeated. As he ages, he becomes more seasoned and powerful as a martial arts practitioner, but also increasingly frail. Eventually, he becomes too wizened by age and succumbs to permanent death unless the player can complete the story in time.
Whilst as a game mechanic, this set-up makes for some thoughtful and tactical martial arts play, it’s easy to see how in the right hands, the concept oozes with potential pathos and narrative possibilities. As it stands, Derek Kolstad, the writer behind the first three John Wick films and Nobody, is penning the film and that seems like a pretty good fit to us.
Kolstad is no stranger to videogame adaptations either having directed much of Netflix’s upcoming Splinter Cell project so we’re wondering if the plan is for him to helm this one as well as penning it.
Little else is known about the project at this time but we’ll bring you more as we hear it.
Deadline
—
Thank you for visiting! If you’d like to support our attempts to make a non-clickbaity movie website:
Follow Film Stories on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.
Buy our Film Stories and Film Junior print magazines here.
Become a Patron here.
Related Stories
- Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon to get adult and family cuts on Netflix
James Cameron's bold prediction about the future of cinema is coming true... kind of.
Remember a while back when James Cameron predicted that the future of cinema lay with films having more than one cut? Well, Netflix is taking things in that direction, kind of although not quite in the way that Cameron's futurist thinking predicted.
It's [...]
- Writers’ strike ends at last, details of deal emerge
As the writers' strike ends, it appears that film and TV screenwriters have had most of their demands met. Hopes rise that an end to the actors' strike will follow shortly.
- World’s first cinema that measures audience response to open in UK
Bristol will be home to The Instrument Auditorium, a cinema that measures heart rate, eye movement and brain activity.
From May of next year, production companies and studios will be able to get feedback on the films they are launching like never before. The Instrument Auditorium, opening in Bristol, is a 36-seater cinema that will be [...]
- Wes Anderson’s Henry Sugar to put Roald Dahl front and centre
Wes Anderson confirms that Roald Dahl will appear as a recurring character in the anthology film Henry Sugar.
With Wes Anderson's Asteroid City about to land on PVOD, we've also heard that his next project will shoot later this year. You can catch our review of the former here, whilst we don't know too much about the latter [...]
- Wes Anderson’s espionage thriller will star Benicio del Toro
The Asteroid City filmmaker Wes Anderson is onto pre-production work on his next film, with one out in cinemas and another coming later this year.
Wes Anderson is on a roll when it comes to productivity. The director currently has Asteroid City out in cinemas (you can find our review here). Furthermore, he's also managed to sneak in an adaptation [...]