Sydney Sweeney To Produce Michael Bay-Directed OutRun Movie

Sega has been making a concerted push into the multimedia space in recent years. The Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical trilogy has led the charge since 2020, but just last year, we also received the Amazon MGM Studios-produced streaming series Like a Dragon: Yakuza on Prime Video. On top of that, Sega has announced adaptations based on Shinobi, Streets of Rage, and other franchises in the future. The company isn't stopping there, however, as a new report attaches actress Sydney Sweeney and director Michael Bay to an upcoming adaptation of the arcade driving series OutRun.

This report, which comes from Deadline, attaches Sweeney as producer, Bay as director, and Jayson Rothwell as scriptwriter. Additionally, Sega senior executive officer Toru Nakahara will produce from Sega's side, while Sega President and Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi will oversee the project. Nakahara has produced every project in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, including the Paramount Plus Knuckles show. He is also lined up to produce the Streets of Rage movie. Utsumi has served as executive producer on Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Sweeney is best known for her roles in shows like Euphoria, White Lotus, and The Handmaid's Tale, as well as films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Though best known for her onscreen work, according to Deadline's report, Sweeney is only attached as a producer at this point. Bay is known as a longtime director of action films, including Bad Boys, Armageddon, five Transformers films, and Pearl Harbor. Rothwell wrote for Polar and Arachnid. 

The film is being developed by Universal Pictures, though plot details are scarce at the moment, according to Deadline. You may note that Universal Pictures is also the studio behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is the studio's third highest-grossing film of all time, behind only Jurassic World and Furious 7. While OutRun hardly has the name recognition of Super Mario Bros., it stands to reason that Universal would want to return to the video-game-adaptation well that brought them success with both The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy's.