After wrestling with giant snakes for Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, director Dwight Little has reportedly signed on to direct a feature film based on the Namco fighting game Tekken. According to Daily Variety, the futuristic martial arts spectacular is being financed by Crystal Sky Pictures and will begin principal photography in early February in Shreveport, La.
Written by Alan McElroy (The Marine, Wrong Turn), the Tekken movie will borrow from the gladiator film genre as it centers on a rebel who takes on the evil Tekken Corp. in order to free his people. Steven Paul and Benedict Carver are producing for Crystal Sky, which most recently collaborated with Marvel on Ghost Rider and is behind Descent director Neil Marshall’s upcoming post-apocalyptic actioner, Doomsday.
In addition to the Anaconda sequel, Little has helmed Wesley Snipes in Murder at 1600, Brandon Lee in Rapid Fire and Steven Segal in Marked for Death. Other credits include Free Willy 2, Halloween 4 and episodes of the hit TV shows 24 and Prison Break.
One of the earliest 3D fighting games, Tekken was released in arcades in 1994 and later became the first PlayStation title to sell more than a million units. Having sold more than 20 million copies of Tekken games to date, Namco is keeping the series going with a sixth title slated to hit retail in North America next month.
