Netflix has acquired the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Sifu.
It was announced in December 2022 that Story Kitchen had partnered with Sloclap to adapt the 2022 beat ‘em up video game Sifu into a feature film. Derek Kolstad was attached to write the script at that time.
While there’s been little news about the project since then, Deadline is now reporting that Netflix has acquired the rights to the Sifu movie.
Netflix has now tapped T.S. Nowlin to write the script. It is unclear if Kolstad is still involved in the project.
What else do we know about Netflix’s live-action Sifu movie?
John Wick’s Chad Stahleski and his 87Eleven Entertainment will produce the film alongside Jason Spritz, Alex Young, Dimitri M. Johnson, and Mike Goldberg. A director is not yet attached.
“The video game developed and published by Sloclap tells a story of revenge set in modern-day China,” Deadline’s article says regarding the plot. “It follows the student of a martial arts school’s master (Sifu) as he seeks to avenge the murder of his mentor. The twist, however, is that thanks to a magical talisman, each time our hero dies, he’s resurrected, but the price paid is that he ages with every use. And should he become too old too fast, his death shall become permanent, and his quest unfulfilled.”
Timothy I. Stevenson, Elena Sandoval, Jeff Ludwig, Jordan Layani, and Pierre Tarno will serve as executive producers.
Nowlin has worked on the scripts for movies such as 2014’s The Maze Runner, 2015’s Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, 2017’s Phoenix Forgotten, 2018’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure, 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising, and 2022’s The Adam Project. He has also served as an executive producer on all three Maze Runner movies, as well as on 2014’s Never.
A release date for Netflix’s Sifu movie has not yet been announced.
