Riders Republic Movie Coming from Bad Boys for Life Directors

Ubisoft’s going full speed into Hollywood again — this time with Riders Republic. The extreme sports sandbox is getting a feature film adaptation, and it’s already got some heavyweight directors attached: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, best known for Bad Boys for Life and the upcoming Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

According to a press release from Ubisoft Film & Television, the film is a partnership with Gaumont, with Noé Debré (Stillwater, The World Is Yours) writing the script. Ubisoft calls it an “electrifying action movie,” promising big laughs, nonstop thrills, and wild stunts in the snowy Alps.

The movie will need all that and more if it wants to do justice to Riders Republic’s chaotic energy.

What Is Riders Republic?

Released in 2021, Riders Republic is Ubisoft’s answer to the question: “What if every extreme sport were in one shared online world?” The game blends downhill biking, snowboarding, wingsuit flying, skiing, and rocket-powered gliding into one giant open map stitched together from seven iconic U.S. national parks.

It plays like Forza Horizon meets SSX, with a loud, colorful vibe and absolutely ridiculous mass races where 64 players crash and bash through gravity-defying courses. Despite some rocky server issues at launch, the game earned solid praise for its playful tone and creative multiplayer chaos. IGN gave it an 8/10, calling it a “bonkers multiplayer experience.”

In 2025, it’s still alive thanks to steady seasonal updates. Ubisoft added a Park Creator mode in Season 14, and players have been building their own stunt courses and challenges ever since.

Why the Bad Boys for Life Team?

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are a smart match. Their work on Bad Boys for Life gave the franchise new energy — blending flashy action, fast cuts, and a little heart without totally abandoning the chaotic buddy-cop DNA that made the originals popular. The duo are known for high-octane pacing, stylized visuals, and being able to walk the line between sincere and ridiculous. In short: exactly the tone Riders Republic needs.

Let’s put their franchise resume into context:

Each movie has had a different director. Michael Bay directed the first two (Bad Boys and Bad Boys II), while Adil and Bilall took over with Bad Boys for Life. They effectively rebooted the series without starting from scratch, modernizing the tone and giving it legs to move forward.

Can Riders Republic Actually Work as a Movie?

It’s a tricky one. Riders Republic doesn’t have a traditional narrative — it’s more about vibes and velocity than character arcs. Turning it into a film means one of two things: either they invent a plot from scratch (maybe a rivalry story? A world championship? A gang of adrenaline junkies saving a mountain from evil real estate developers?), or they lean hard into visual spectacle and let the stunts do the talking.

Ubisoft says the movie will lean into “humor, stunts, and thrills,” which sounds like they’re aiming for something closer to Fast & Furious: Snowbike Drift than a deep character drama.

That might be the best move.

Gaming Goes Hollywood

Riders Republic joins a long list of games heading to theaters. Recent hits like Sonic and Mario proved that fun, well-directed adaptations can actually print money. Meanwhile, deeper cuts like Until Dawn and Death Stranding are trying to bring more stylized or mature tones to the format. And Netflix and HBO aren’t slowing down either.

We’re in the middle of a full-blown video game adaptation gold rush. Whether Riders Republic will hit or wipe out remains to be seen.

A Riders Republic movie sounds risky on paper — no story, no iconic characters, just a huge map and a ton of snowboards. But with the Bad Boys for Life team at the helm and Ubisoft giving it their usual all-in push, it might just work. It all depends on whether they can translate the energy of screaming downhill at 100 mph with 63 other lunatics into something theater-worthy.

Whether it’s a hit or not, one thing’s clear: the line between games and movies is blurrier than ever. And if Riders Republic pulls this off, we might be entering the age of the extreme sports cinematic universe.