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Get ready for the cinematic world of South Town.
And in the last part of the twentiethy In the 20th century, SNK was a provider of popular and influential arcade and video games such as Murderous rage and Art of fighting. Many of them are set in a fictional American city known as Southtown. Now, these games are in development as the cornerstone of The Arena The independent production banner formerly known as Arena SNK was launched last year by former studio executive turned producer Eric Feig.
Murderous rage and martial art, along with Metal alloy, samurai encounter And others, being adapted into films, shows, anime and manga with the best talent in Hollywood. Feig and his collaborators, former Universal executive Matt Reilly and former Crunchyroll marketing executive Marcus Gerdman, aren’t stopping just at the adaptations, they’re hoping to build a fan community and pop culture through his stories and products.
“Yes, we are a brand new production studio living at the intersection of gaming, anime, and event events,” Feig said. “But one of the key directives, especially with our portfolio, is to find those fan communities and introduce it to them early, often, and everywhere they are.”
SNK’s South Town line of games were crime and martial arts shows, and proved influential on filmmakers like Takashi Miike and Quentin Tarantino and on later video games like Street fight and grand theft auto. Games were known for being character- and story-driven, something that could give producers a head start on worldbuilding.
“South Town has a passionate fanbase, a great expansive narrative, and characters that provide a lot to play with,” Feig explained about Arena’s focus on this part of its portfolio. “It’s not just a fighting game. If you’re a fan of anime or inspiring movies, if you’re interested in gritty crimes or emotional storylines, if you like mixed martial arts or global adventures, we have everything you need.”
Feature-wise, Arena is under active development Murderous ragecommissioned text from David S. Goyer, best known for his work on Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Batman films and for co-creating the recent Apple TV series institution. The project tells the story of two brothers, Terry and Andy Bogard, who watch their adoptive father murdered by Southtown crime boss Jez Howard. Then, after years of training, they return to participate in a fighting tournament full of revenge.
Meanwhile, the company is developing GeeseInspired by The godfather It tells the origin story of Geese Howard who was born into a violent underworld and shaped by pain and betrayal to become the insidious villain of South Town. Grant Singer, the filmmaker behind Netflix’s neo-noir starring Benicio del Toro and Justin Timberlake. ReptilesHe is writing the script and will direct. It will star a different and much younger actor than the actor Murderous rage version of Goose, and is said to be positioned as this universe’s answer to DC joker film.
Arena has also teamed up with Skybound, the Robert Kirkman-led company behind Amazon’s success invincibleFor animation production Murderous rage series. Titled Murderous Fury: The VowThe series will focus on the brothers’ formative years as they search for meaning, career, and of course, training. The two brothers’ paths converge once again in a shared revenge: one driven by rage, the other by discipline.
The series will likely be produced for YouTube, which Arena sees as having the greatest audience reach. The company wants to work with superfans and influencers during the development process.
Finally there Art of fighting The webtoon is being developed by Brandon Chen, the creator of the supernatural crime webtoon Double murderAnd a vampire adventure Blood system. The webtoon’s tagline describes it as “an action-packed two-player game that brings two fierce rivals together to delve into the tough streets of Southtown to save the friend and love of their lives.”
Feige said during a recent visit to the Arena Los Angeles offices Art of fighting It will be the first title to hit the market that aims to create the world of South Town.
The multi-pronged approach is designed to take into account the long production times of bringing titles to market while also meeting fans at all different media entry points.
“Things happen in different production cycles,” Vig said. “So how do these things help each other exist, and how do we try to reach audiences in a way that lets them consume media, which is everywhere, in so many different ways. We use the same approach in every kind of thing we try to do.”
Arena is being built around the idea of ”being a living, breathing part of a lot of people’s lives on a daily basis,” Vig explained. “Watch the movie, play this game, read this webtoon, go check out this anime. But it’s about a whole ecosystem of conversation and connection that we’re trying to provide as well.”
Gerdemann is key in building the fan connection. As a marketing executive at Sony, he helped turn Funimation and Crunchyroll into the names they are today and helped elevate anime culturally. He described this as “creating culture with purpose.”
Riley’s mission is to develop and create screen stories across different platforms. He said the company has a “north star logo called ‘Muscular Prestige.’” He continued: “We want everything to clearly strive for quality and excellence but also offer something unique that lives up to the expectations of the intellectual property that we honor.”
For films, Arena plans to work with co-financiers and distribution partners. And it doesn’t want to be limited to just making SNK game titles, even though that’s an IP owned by Arena’s Saudi-backed investor MiSK Group. (Saudi-backed MBC is also an investor.)
She wants to develop originals, which means receiving ideas and looking at books. Its financial backers support this approach, he said.
The company, which officially launched in January, has a startup mentality, wanting to move quickly but deliberately and in a smart way.
Thinking is “slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” Feige said, borrowing a phrase from director Pete Berg, who may have borrowed it from the US Navy SEALs.
“Typically, you can move very quickly but not have the ability to get things done. Or you can get things done but there’s groupthink and a lot of people involved, and you make very safe choices,” Vig said. “Here we can do both. We can move forward and we can do it agilely and dynamically.”
