Netflix and SEGA partner to adapt Crazy Taxi, Sonic, and Stranger Than Heaven

Netflix and SEGA have announced a major multi-title partnership to adapt several prominent video game franchises into film and television. The collaboration includes three primary projects: a live-action comedy film based on the arcade classic ‘Crazy Taxi’, a live-action crime drama based on the upcoming RGG Studio title ‘Stranger Than Heaven’, and a new animated ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ series specifically designed for a preschool audience.

The ‘Crazy Taxi’ film will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the duo behind the 2025 ‘The Naked Gun’ reboot, with production involving Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, and SEGA’s Toru Nakahara. The project aims to capture the chaotic energy of the original 1999 game.

‘Stranger Than Heaven’, set in early 20th-century Japan, will follow a foreigner’s rise from poverty to becoming a yakuza leader and entertainment tycoon. The game itself is scheduled for release in early 2027. Meanwhile, the new ‘Sonic’ series, developed by Carlos Stevens and Nakahara, is described as being “high-voltage, comedic, yet emotionally grounded” for younger viewers.

SEGA President and COO Shuji Utsumi stated that the company is proud to see Netflix apply its storytelling expertise to their diverse library, covering different eras of the company’s history.