Sega and Netflix Partner for Live-Action Crazy Taxi Movie in 2027

Sega and Netflix have announced a formal partnership to adapt the arcade racing franchise Crazy Taxi into a live-action feature film slated for release in 2027. Screenwriters Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, whose previous collaborations include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, How I Met Your Mother, and the 2025 Naked Gun reboot, have been tapped to pen the comedy screenplay. While no director has been officially attached to the adaptation yet, the project is moving forward under a prominent production team.

Original Film producers Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher are attached to produce the Crazy Taxi movie alongside Toru Nakahara, who serves as a producer on the Sonic the Hedgehog film series. Elaborating on the creative vision for the adaptation in an official Netflix press release, Moritz and Ascher described the film as targeting anyone who spent hours behind the wheel of a yellow cab on a Sega Dreamcast while blasting arcade soundtracks and smashing through obstacles to secure fares.

The live-action Crazy Taxi adaptation forms part of a broader multi-project collaboration between Sega and Netflix. Beyond the arcade adaptation, the partnership encompasses a new animated television series focused on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise that is specifically targeted toward an upper preschool audience. The slate also includes another live-action movie project based on Stranger Than Heaven, an upcoming game developed by RGG Studio, which is widely recognized for its work on the Yakuza and Like A Dragon series.

The simultaneous development of multiple adaptations highlights an expanding multi-media strategy by Sega to translate its intellectual property portfolio across streaming television and cinematic releases. The partnership leverages established production pipelines already proven by successful game-to-screen transitions in recent years.

The greenlighting of the Crazy Taxi film marks the culmination of nearly two decades of sporadic attempts by Sega to bring the arcade property to the cinematic screen. Company executives and various production teams have spent roughly twenty years trying to steer a Hollywood adaptation out of development. During earlier stages of those prolonged efforts, filmmaker Richard Donner, renowned for directing Superman and The Goonies, was at one point attached to direct an adaptation before the project stalled.

the upcoming film arrives as the core video game franchise experiences a separate revival. Sega is preparing to launch a brand-new game in the series, titled Crazy Taxi: World Tour, scheduled for release next year. Industry observers note that the upcoming arcade racing title will introduce narrative lore to the historically arcade-focused series, featuring detailed driver backstories that explain the personal motivations behind why each character got behind the wheel.

While screenwriters have been locked in and core producers appointed, Netflix and Sega have not yet disclosed a specific filming schedule or production start date. The recruitment of a director remains pending as the project progresses through early pre-production phases. Production teams will also need to clarify how closely the live-action comedic tone and narrative elements of the 2027 film will intersect with the expanded lore and driver backstories introduced in the upcoming Crazy Taxi: World Tour video game.