Forget Sonic, SEGA's Classic Arcade Shinobi Series Headed for Hollywood

One of SEGA's more overlooked mascots (with Sonic and Alex the Kidd getting all the attention), Joe Musashi, it seems, will get his shot at the big time. The Shinobi series, which began way back in 1987, is officially getting a film adaptation to be directed by Sam Hargrave for Universal, according to Deadline.

Following the successful mining of the Sonic franchise, it's not surprising to see SEGA go back to the well. Hargrave gained renown in collaboration with the Russo brothers, serving as stunt director on major Marvel films and directing the Extraction series of Netflix films starring Chris Hemsworth.

The Shinobi series, which spans 14 video games, was released across an eclectic mix of what are now considered retro platforms and is confusing to follow. Capitalising on the popularity of ninjas in America in the late 80s, it followed the exploits of Joe Musashi, who fought against the shadowy ninja clan called Zeed, which schemed to return Japan to a Sengoku-style period of civil strife in which shinobi thrived.