Eternal Champions: Sega fighting game is getting a film adaptation

Back in 1993, Sega released a fighting game called Eternal Champions, aiming to capitalize on the popularity of the previous two years’ Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, but also making sure to put “a heavier emphasis” on this game’s story along the way. Eternal Champions didn’t turn out to be as popular as Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat were but it clearly has a following, because more than thirty years after the game’s initial release, Skydance is moving forward with a film adaptation.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger are producing the film for Skydance, while Toru Nakahara, who has overseen the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, is producing for Sony. Rob Ree serves as executive producer. Aimee Rivera is overseeing the project for Skydance.

Derek Connolly, who worked on Kong: Skull Island and all three Jurassic World movies, is working on the screenplay.

Here’s what Eternal Champions is all about: In order to change the dire fate of Earth, a being known as the Eternal Champion marshals the souls of key humans from across history, people who were destined for greatness but died before fulfilling their promise. The individuals are thrown into a contest of champions, with the winner regaining their life and becoming the hero Earth needs in order to restore balance, while the others return to moments before their death.

The game had nine playable characters:

Blade – Jonathan Blade is a Syrian bounty hunter from 2030 A.D. He was hired by the government to help track down a terrorist that had stolen a lethal virus. Blade was about to apprehend the terrorist when special forces agents opened fire on both of them, accidentally causing the terrorist to drop the vial and release the virus.

Jetta – Jetta Maxx is a member of Russian aristocracy from 1899 A.D. She was working undercover as a circus acrobat at the time of her death. A boxer revolutionary tampered with her tightrope equipment ahead of a major show in China. She fell to her death in front of the live crowd. When her true identity was revealed, it heightened tensions between both nations.

Larcen – Larcen Tyler is a former cat-burglar from 1920s Chicago. He used to do jobs for a local crime boss. He was hired to plant evidence in the hospital room of a rival mafia leader. It was only when he got to the location that he discovered that his real target was the Chief of Police, and the “evidence” was actually a bomb. Larcen was killed in the explosion that destroyed most of the hospital.

Midknight – Midknight is a vampire-like mutant hiding in Vietnam. In his former life, he was the noted British biochemist Mitchell Middleton Knight. He was hired by U.S. forces to spike water supplies during the Vietnam War in 1967. He became exposed to the chemical, and was mutated like every other victim. He was killed by a vampire hunter hired by the government before he could create a cure.

R.A.X. – R.A.X. Coswell is an American cyber-kickboxer from 2345 A.D. His trainer programmed a virus into his R.A.X. exoskeleton software to ensure he lost an important match. Coswell died during the match as a result.

Shadow – Shadow Yamato is a ninja assassin from modern-day (1993 A.D) Japan. She was thrown off the top of her employer’s skyscraper before she could publicly expose the murderous actions of her syndicate.

Slash – Slash is a prehistoric hunter from 50,000 B.C. He was sentenced to death by the elders of his tribe who feared that Slash would use his high intelligence to usurp them.

Trident – An artificial being created by the Atlanteans from 110 B.C. He was killed by a rival before he could compete in the final match of a gladiator tournament. As a consequence, the Roman Empire banished his race to the sea where they were eventually wiped out.

Xavier – Xavier Pendragon was an alchemy student from 1692 A.D. He was executed under a false charge of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.

Are you a fan of Eternal Champions, and are you glad to hear it’s getting a film adaptation? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.