eOne and the Mark Gordon Company (MGC) have optioned the rights to remake the classic video-game franchise Street Fighter for TV.

Joey Ansah, Jacqueline Quella and Mark Wooding, who created the live-action web series and feature film Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, will executive produce the series, with MGC’s L.A.-based Jacqueline Sacerio overseeing the project for the global studio. eOne will develop, finance and produce the project, as well as handle international sales.

The announcement of the deal comes less than two months after eOne revealed it agreed to acquire the remaining 49% in MGC in a transaction pegged at around USD $209 million (CDN $258 million). The announcement also saw Mark Gordon installed as eOne’s new president and chief content officer of film, television and digital, with John Morayniss stepping down from his role as president of eOne television.

Since its initial release as an arcade game in 1987, the Street Fighter gaming franchise, developed and published by Osaka, Japan-based gaming company Capcom, has sold more than 40 million units across various game consoles.

The TV adaptation will focus on four of the franchise’s protagonists – Ryu, Ken, Guile and Chun-Li – as they attempt to bring down megalomaniac M. Bison, who runs the global criminal organization Shadaloo.

“A particular strength of Street Fighter is the wide range of ethnically diverse characters and powerful women featured in the game. It will allow us to build an inclusive and engaging TV universe,” said Gordon in a statement.

The option deal comes four months on the heels of MGC’s acquisition of the rights to adapt the musical Come From Away. MGC is producing and financing a film adaptation of the property, with Toronto-based playwrights Irene Sankoff and David Hein penning the screenplay.

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