The Tekken franchise had already hit a milestone by getting adapted to film before Namco Bandai announced a pair of Street Fighter/Tekken games in July. Unfortunately, if you lived outside of Japan you probably didn't get to see the movie. A company called Anchor Bay Entertainment intends to change that, however, for U.S., Australia and New Zealand residents. They're reached a distribution agreement with the movie's makers at Crystal Sky Pictures, and they want it out in 2011.
"The Tekken video game franchise has sold millions of copies over the past decade," Anchor Bay Films president Bill Clark said in a press release. "Crystal Sky has invested millions in the production, making sure they were able to convey not only the incredible fight scenes, but also the emotional journey of the main character, Jin."
So don't leave your humanity at the door, because this film is about more than action and fighting. Whatever it is about, Crystal Sky seems happy with the arrangement.
"We're delighted to have come to an agreement with Anchor Bay Films for the U.S., Australian and New Zealand release of Tekken," Crystal Sky CEO Steven Paul said. "Anchor Bay is a strong, upcoming distributor with a solid history and deep understanding of Japanese entertainment, and we know they will give the film a big push in the marketplace."
If the fighting moves are halfway decent, "Tekken" won't need much more going for it to push itself to me in the marketplace — unless of course it happened to also address the emotional journey of Kuma and Panda, which could present opportunities for Oscar-winning performances.
Are you glad to hear that "Tekken" has found a distributor for the U.S.? Do you plan on going to see it when it arrives? Share your responses in the comment section below.