Universal Pictures has secured the rights to adapt Sega’s 1986 arcade hit OutRun into a feature film, with Michael Bay set to direct and Sydney Sweeney attached as a producer.
Bay, known for the Transformers series and Ambulance, will work alongside Brad Fuller to produce through their Platinum Dunes banner, which holds a first-look deal with Universal. Sweeney, who has starred in Anyone But You and Immaculate, will also produce. Toru Nakahara, producer of Sonic the Hedgehog films and other Sega properties, will produce for the company, with Sega’s COO Shuji Utsumi overseeing the project.
Matt Reilly and Ryan Jones, executives at Universal, will supervise the film’s development for the studio. Jayson Rothwell, who wrote Polar and Arachnid, will pen the screenplay, though plot details are being kept under wraps.
The OutRun franchise is one of the most successful arcade series of the 1980s. The game was revolutionary in its genre, combining fast driving with an iconic electronic soundtrack, helping to establish a new wave in driving games. Its success led to several sequels and home console versions, and it remains a major part of Sega’s portfolio.
This project continues Universal’s success in adapting video games into films, following the global box office successes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy’s, which collectively grossed over $1.7 billion worldwide.
Bay is represented by Rich Cook at Range Media Partners, Sweeney by Paradigm, imPRint, and Stewart Brookman at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, etc. Rothwell is represented by Cliff Roberts at Syndicate Entertainment and Austin Williams at Sloan Offer Weber & Dern.
Related topics:
