Sony has greenlit a Ghost of Tsushima movie led by John Wick’s director

Sony Pictures has greenlit a live-action movie adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima, it’s announced.

Sony’s PlayStation Productions subsidiary is developing the film with John Wick’s Chad Stahelski attached to direct. Game developer Sucker Punch will serve as executive producers, along with Stahelski, Alex Young and Jason Spitz through their company 87Eleven Entertainment.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Chad and 87Eleven Entertainment, to bring their vision of Jin’s story to the big screen,” said PlayStation Studios head Asad Qizilbash, via Deadline.

“We love working with creative partners like Chad, who have a passion for our games, ensuring we can create rich adaptations that will excite our fans and new audiences.”

The Ghost of Tsushima movie will mark the second film to come out of the partnership between Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions, with Uncharted currently in post-production and set to be released on February 11, 2022.

Ghost of Tsushima released in July 2020 and became an immediate sales success. The game centers around samurai Jin Sakai, the last surviving member of his clan, who must wage war against invading Mongols and free the island of Tsushima.

The open-world PS4 action game sold through more than 2.4 million copies globally in its first three days of sales, according to Sony, which marked a new record for an original IP launch.

On Thursday, developer Sucker Punch claimed Ghost of Tsushima had now sold more than 6.5 million copies, and that half of players had finished the game.

In January, the popularity of the PlayStation game led to fans helping raise more than $260,000 to rebuild a shrine on the real island.

The Island of Tsushima later announced that the leads behind the PlayStation game, director Nate Fox and creative director Jason Connell, would be honoured as permanent tourism ambassadors.

Game director Nate Fox said of the movie news: “The idea of translating our game into a new medium is exciting, and we’re intrigued by the possibilities… To think that we could sit in the theater someday watching Jin Sakai up on the big screen is amazing. We’d all relive his tense transformation into the Ghost from a whole new vantage point.”

He added: “We are happy to partner with Sony Pictures to make this happen. And Jin is in very good hands with the film’s director. Chad Stahelski created something special with John Wick.

“His vision for what could be, backed up by years of experience, combined to create some of the finest action scenes ever created. If anyone could bring to life the razor-sharp tension of Jin’s katana combat, it’s Chad Stahelski.”

PlayStation Productions was formed by Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt its original game properties for film and TV.

Sony is reportedly developing three movies and seven TV shows based on PlayStation games, including the Uncharted film starring Tom Holland, and an HBO The Last of Us series.