There have been a handful of film franchises throughout the years that have gone all in on spectacle and become increasingly wild and crazy with each new entry. Franchises likeTransformers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, andFast and Furiousare key examples of this, and now theSaints Rowseries is aiming to become the latest addition to the pantheon of cinematic insanity.
Back in May 2019, it wasannounced that aSaints Rowmovie is in development, marking the first time Volition’s action-comedy franchise would be expanding beyond the realm of video games. Since then, however, there’s been no word on how the project has been faring, but while this doesn’t change much, one of the people working on the film offered a quick update on the movie this weekend.
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Screenwriter Greg Russo is working on the script for theSaints Rowmovie, as well as for a number of other high-profile video game film adaptations, including theupcomingMortal KombatmovieandSpace Invaders. On Friday, Russo was fielding questions regardingMortal Kombatwhen he was asked if he could share any progress onSaints Row.
Without going into specifics, he briefly stated that he had “a great writing session” the day before with the movie’s director, F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton,The Fate of the Furious). “We want to makeSaintsthe next insane film franchise. LOT of love going into this,” he wrote, adding that he’ll hopefully be able to share more news soon and telling fans “it’s a good time to be aSaintsfan.”
It certainly looks as if it’s going to be. While theSaints Rowseries has been dormant for the last few years, with the last game released for it being its 2017 spinoffAgents of Mayhem, it’s in the process of waking up again. Beside the movie, it’s been confirmed thata newSaints Rowgame will be announced in 2020, though that’s about the full extent of what’s known currently.
Going back to the movie, there’s no doubt thatSaints Rowcan kickstart the next over-the-top film franchise. While the series began life as a relatively groundedGrand Theft Autoclone, it has forged its own wacky identity with subsequent sequels, culminating inSaints Row 4, where players can become a superpowered President of the United States, get trapped in aMatrix-style simulation, and fight off an alien invasion.Saints Rowhas evolvedto the point that all pretense of realism was abandoned long ago, so Russo, Gray, and the rest of the film’s creators are basically free to do whatever they want in the name of giving filmgoers a wild time.
