Netflix and Sega Set Multi-Title Deal: Crazy Taxi Movie, Sonic Kids Series, Stranger Than Heaven

Netflix and Sega unlocked a multititle development slate built around three very different corners of the publisher’s catalog: a live-action Crazy Taxi comedy feature, a new animated Sonic the Hedgehog series aimed at upper preschoolers, and a film adaptation of action-adventure title Stranger Than Heaven. Variety and Deadline confirmed the partnership on September 14, 2026, extending a relationship that already produced three seasons of Netflix’s Sonic Prime. The Hollywood Reporter likewise covered the multi-title announcement.

Crazy Taxi is the furthest along on paper: Dan Gregor and Doug Mand—the duo behind the 2025 Naked Gun reboot—are writing a live-action comedy based on the 1999 arcade racing game. Producers include Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher alongside Sega head producer Toru Nakahara. A new game entry, Crazy Taxi: World Tour, is slated for 2027. No director, cast or release date for the Netflix film has been announced. Moritz and Ascher said in a statement carried by the trades that the film is for anyone who spent hours “behind the wheel of a yellow cab on their Dreamcast, with the music cranked up.”

Also in development: an animated Sonic series with Carlos Stevens and Nakahara attached, described as high-voltage and comedic yet emotionally grounded for kids—distinct from Sonic Prime’s existing 3D run—and a live-action film adaptation of RGG Studio’s Stranger Than Heaven. That game, set in early 20th-century Japan, is due January 2027; Nakahara will produce the film. Sega says the Like a Dragon / Yakuza franchise behind RGG has sold more than 30 million copies, Deadline and Variety noted.

Netflix’s Brandon Riegg, VP of nonfiction and transmedia, said in a statement quoted across outlets that the slate lets Netflix work “across three completely different eras of Sega’s catalog.” Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi called the announcement “just the start.” The Monday packaging also situates Sega inside Netflix’s wider games-to-screen pipeline, from live-action Assassin’s Creed and Gears of War projects to animated adaptations and returning anime seasons, Variety reported.

From a studio-business lens, the story is risk distribution under one corporate relationship: nostalgic arcade comedy with proven writers, a preschool Sonic extension with existing Sonic producers, and a prestige-adjacent period crime piece from a proven Japanese studio. The announcements describe titles set in development rather than cameras-rolling productions with published budgets—an important distinction for readers tracking deals versus production starts. Related Netflix slate context: Netflix’s film slate.