Jack Black Eyes an Iconic 21-Year-Old Video Game for His Next Movie

Well, here's a fun twist in the world of game-to-screen projects: Jack Black, everyone's favorite chaos agent in video game adaptation casting, is now floating the idea of joining a live-action Yakuza movie. Yes, the same Jack Black who's been the voice of Bowser for two different Mario movies — and just keeps racking up more wins at the box office.

Jack Black Shoots His Shot… at Sega

While promoting his latest round of Super Mario projects (this time with Donald Glover tagging along for press duty), Black told ScreenRant he's got his eyes on another massive international franchise. Specifically, he said:

Black actually cracked this during a back-and-forth with Glover. The interview did get a little weird: Glover started listing off fantasy graphic novels his kids are into (shout out to Wings of Fire and Saga), and Black joked about not invoking Sega’s name too loudly, as if someone from legal would swoop in and shut down the interview. A Hollywood moment, honestly.

Wait, There's a History Here

If you haven't kept tabs on Yakuza (or Like a Dragon, as it's known in Japan), here's the crash course: It's a long-running Sega video game franchise created by Toshihiro Nagoshi, first released back in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. These games follow Kazuma Kiryu (a.k.a. "the Dragon of Dojima") barreling through Tokyo’s underworld — a mix of high-stakes crime drama, over-the-top action, and, strangely enough, absurd comedy. Basically, Grand Theft Auto with way more karaoke and melodrama.

Hollywood's been circling ways to adapt it for years, but so far the output has been pretty odd. There was an early Japanese movie, Like a Dragon, that only kind of followed the first game, and recently, Amazon went for a six-part series called Like a Dragon: Yakuza. Honestly, most fans found it at best a confusing adaptation and, at worst, a total miss. Part of that is because the source material jumps from hyper-violent gangster battles to guys in chicken suits, sometimes in the space of five minutes. Not easy to translate.

Why Jack Black Now?

This isn’t as random as it might sound. Jack Black really is on a roll with video game movies. He's Bowser in both The Super Mario Bros. Movie (box office: over $1.36 billion!) and its upcoming sequel. He’s also in the Minecraft movie, which already pulled in close to a billion dollars. So, yeah, if studios are looking for a guy to bring a recognizable face (and voice) to their game adaptation, it makes sense he’s tossing his name into more hats.

Oddly enough, Sega has even polled fans in the past about which celebrities they'd like in future Yakuza projects. Black’s name was literally among the options. Clearly, the fans and Jack Black might be on the same page.

Quick Hits: What Makes Yakuza a Tough Adaptation?

• First launched in 2005 for PlayStation 2 by Toshihiro Nagoshi.
• Main character: Kazuma Kiryu, but there’s also Ichiban Kasuga and the fan-favorite maniac Goro Majima.
• Not just a crime game — there are dramatic story arcs, absurd humor, wild brawls, and mini-games from bowling to cabaret club management.
• Past adaptations (including a 2007 movie and the recent Amazon Prime show) have struggled to capture the franchise’s weird balance of tone.
• A Western-produced live-action movie has been "in development" since 2020, but news is scarce and progress feels about as slow as Kiryu’s karaoke night.

So… Is This Actually Happening?

At this point, Jack Black hasn't signed onto anything. But he's definitely interested, and Sega hasn't ruled out using major Hollywood talent if their adaptation plans ever move forward. If you’re hoping to see Black running the mean streets of Kamurocho, it’s not out of the question — but as of now, all we really have is an enthusiastic actor, a slightly awkward interview, and the eternal Hollywood search for the next big game franchise to milk.

One thing's for sure: If Jack Black does end up in a live-action Yakuza movie, expect karaoke. Lots and lots of karaoke.