Netflix is taking another ride into the world of video games, teaming up with Sega to bring Crazy Taxi, Sonic and Stranger Than Heaven to the screen in three very different adaptations.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is developing a feature film based on Crazy Taxi, with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the writers behind the 2025 The Naked Gun reboot, attached to the project. Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher of Original Film and Sega producer Toru Nakahara will produce the film.
The Crazy Taxi game first hit arcades in 1999. It puts players behind the wheel of a fearless cab driver racing through chaotic city streets while trying to beat the clock.
Netflix and Sega are also developing a new animated Sonic series. Carlos Stevens and Nakahara are attached to the project, which will target an upper pre-school audience. The series will give Sonic and his friends a high-energy, comedic and emotionally grounded adventure.
The third project, Stranger Than Heaven, will become a live-action film. Developed by RGG Studio, the game is set in early 20th-century Japan. Nakahara will produce the film for Sega.
The three projects will cover very different territory. Crazy Taxi will take the form of a live-action comedy, Sonic will target younger viewers through animation, while Stranger Than Heaven will become a live-action crime story.
Netflix sees the collaboration as a way to tap into Sega’s wide-ranging catalogue while bringing established game worlds to new audiences. Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice-president of nonfiction and transmedia, said games already offer the characters, worlds and fan bases that screen adaptations need.
Sega is also looking beyond individual projects. President and COO Shuji Utsumi said the company is proud to see Netflix bring its major franchises to a new audience and expressed confidence in the streamer’s approach to the three titles.
The partnership adds another batch of game adaptations to Netflix’s growing slate. The streamer is also developing a live-action Assassin’s Creed series and a live-action Gears of War film, alongside animated adaptations of Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering and Clash of Clans.
For now, Netflix and Sega have not announced release dates for the three new projects. But with Crazy Taxi, Sonic and Stranger Than Heaven, the companies are betting that Sega’s game worlds can make the jump from screens to streaming without losing their distinct identities.
