Devil May Cry film rights scooped up

In 2002, Sony's Screen Gems label released Resident Evil, the first live-action film based on Capcom's blockbuster horror survival series. The series proved a hit, with three more films following: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), and Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010). According to Variety, the series, which stars Milla Jovovich, has grossed over $580 million worldwide to date.

This week, the Hollywood trade reported that another Capcom franchise is headed to the big screen. According to Variety, the film rights to the Devil May Cry series have been scooped up by Sony, which will once again release the series under its Screen Gems label. The company has hired screenwriter Kyle Ward, who also wrote the screenplay for the forthcoming big-screen version of Kane & Lynch, to pen the film's script.

It is unclear if the first Devil May Cry film will be based on the first game in the series. Released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2, the original installment told the tale of Dante, a demon hunter seeking to avenge the murder of his brother and mother. Three games followed in the series: Devil May Cry 2 (2003), Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (2005), and Devil May Cry 4 (2008).

A fifth game, simply titled DMC, is in development at Ninja Theory. As outlined in GameSpot's 2010 Tokyo Game Show preview, it will reset the series in the present day, with a new-look Dante sporting new weapons.