The Hollywood Reporter reports that The Arena, formerly Arena SNK, is developing a large cross-media project titled South Town Saga. The project adapts SNK game franchises including Fatal Fury and The Art of Fighting into live-action films, a webtoon, and an animated series.
Geese Film – The Origin of a Legendary Villain
The first revealed project is a live-action film titled Geese, focusing on the origin of Geese Howard, the main villain of the Fatal Fury series. The film will present a younger version of Geese who differs from his game portrayal. Grant Singer, director of Reptile, will write and direct. The team intends the film to play a role similar to DC’s Joker in relation to superhero films.
Fatal Fury Film – The Bogard Brothers’ Revenge
A second live-action film, using the Fatal Fury franchise name directly, is also in script development. The screenplay is by David S. Goyer, known for The Dark Knight trilogy, Blade, and work on the Call of Duty: Black Ops games. The story follows Terry and Andy Bogard, two brothers whose adoptive father is killed by Geese Howard. After years of training, they enter a fighting tournament to seek revenge.
The Art of Fighting Webtoon
The The Art of Fighting webtoon is being handled by writer and producer Brandon Chen, known for Double Kill and Blood System. The story is described as an adventure in which two rivals must work together and descend into the harsh streets of South Town to save friends and loved ones. The Arena founder Erik Feig said this webtoon will be the first project released and will lay the foundation for the full South Town Saga.
Fatal Fury: The Vow Animated Series
The final revealed project is an animated series titled Fatal Fury: The Vow, produced by Skybound, the company behind Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible. It will explore the youth of Terry and Andy Bogard as the brothers search for meaning, direction, and training before their paths converge again around revenge. The Hollywood Reporter states that the series is likely to debut on YouTube.
Other SNK Franchises May Follow
Feig also said other SNK franchises, including Metal Slug and Samurai Shodown, are on the list for possible future adaptations.
About The Arena and Its Executives
Erik Feig is known as a producer on I Know What You Did Last Summer, the Step Up series, and as an executive producer on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He founded The Arena last year with Matt Reilly, a former Universal executive, and Markus Gerdemann, a former Crunchyroll marketing executive.
Gerdemann served as senior vice president of marketing at Crunchyroll from October 2022 until his resignation last October. A December 2024 Bloomberg report described concerns from employees and rights holders about his management, including complaints related to his leadership and alleged hostile workplace behavior. Sony investigated allegations of sexism and cleared Gerdemann of that allegation.
SNK’s Corporate Background
SNK Corporation was founded in 1978, filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and was re-established as SNK Playmore later that year. The company later withdrew from the pachislot business in 2015 and returned to the name SNK Corporation in December 2016.
In 2022, SNK announced that Electronic Gaming Development Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s MiSK Foundation, held 96.18% of SNK after additional share purchases. SNK is known for franchises such as The King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, and the NeoGeo console. Its latest fighting game, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, launched in April 2025.
Source: ann_jp
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