Variety has reported Crazy Taxi and Stranger Than Heaven are receiving film adaptations, and a new Sonic TV show is in the works aimed at pre-schoolers.
All three projects are being lead by Netflix, with the Sonic series in development with Carlos Stevens and Toru Nakahara. It will present Sonic and his friends as heroes for an upper pre-school audience, and is said to be a “high-voltage, comedic, yet emotionally grounded series built for kids who want to feel a little edge, a little attitude, and a lot of ‘that’s my crew’ wish fulfillment.”
The next project a part of the new multititle deal is Crazy Taxi. The movie will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the team behind the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun, with Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher and SEGA's Toru Nakahara, the producers behind the Sonic franchises.
The third title to be adapted is Stranger Than Heaven, a part of the long running Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, which will also be in film form.
“Great games already have what every adaptation is chasing — characters people love, worlds they know by heart, and fandoms that show up,” said Brandon Riegg, VP of nonfiction and transmedia at Netflix. “With ‘Crazy Taxi,’ ‘Sonic’ and ‘Stranger Than Heaven,’ we get to work across three completely different eras of Sega’s catalog, celebrating everything fans love, while introducing them to new audiences.”
Head producer at SEGA, Toru Nakahara, added: “Expect something cute yet cool for ‘Sonic,’ hilariously crazy for ‘Crazy Taxi’ and a badass action drama for ‘Stranger Than Heaven,’ because we’ve got some amazing creative ideas lined up and we are just getting started. The whole team is absolutely thrilled!”
“We couldn’t be more excited to continue our longstanding relationship with Sega and bring ‘Crazy Taxi’ to life with our partners at Netflix,” Moritz and Ascher said in a statement. “This film is for anyone who’s spent hours behind the wheel of a yellow cab on their Dreamcast, with the music cranked up, smashing through everything in sight just to make the next fare.”
“We’ve watched Netflix take on stories across every kind of format and treat each one with real craft, and seeing that same dedication applied to ‘Sonic,’ ‘Crazy Taxi’ and ‘Stranger Than Heaven’ is something we at Sega are incredibly proud to be a part of,” said Shuji Utsumi, president and COO of Sega. “The fandoms of these games deserve storytelling that honors what makes each title special, and we know Netflix shares that commitment. This is just the start of what these titles can become.”
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