Netflix taps Shawn Levy to bring a beloved game franchise Persona to live action
Netflix is leveling up its game-to-screen push, teaming with Shawn Levy on a live-action take on Persona, the fan-favorite Japanese RPG franchise. Christopher Monfette is on board as the streamer continues to stack big swings in its video game adaptation slate.
Netflix has decided it wants a shot at adapting yet another iconic Japanese video game. This time they’re going full live-action for ‘Persona’, and they’ve got Shawn Levy on board — which says a lot, considering he’s one of their bigger hitters.
Here Comes ‘Persona’
In what’s really not much of a surprise given the way streaming is headed, Netflix is turning the ‘Persona’ game series into a proper live-action TV show. If you’ve ever played one of these RPGs, you’ll know what a wild mix of high school heartache and psychodrama you’re in for — evil forces, day jobs, friendship dramas, all that jazz, and plenty of genuinely oddball monsters. It’s a genuinely strange franchise to try to bring to the screen, but they’re having a go anyway.
Who’s Doing What
Christopher Monfette’s been tapped to write and run the show as executive producer. His credits are a bit all over TV sci-fi: '12 Monkeys', 'Star Trek: Picard', as well as '9-1-1' (which is about as American TV as it gets). He’s also working with Marvel for Disney+ on that upcoming 'VisionQuest' series, so he’s no stranger to Big Name nerd properties.
On the production side:
- Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Robert Atwood at 21 Laps (the ‘Stranger Things’ lot) are executive producing.
- The folks from Story Kitchen — Dmitri M. Johnson, Timothy I. Stevenson, Michael Lawrence Goldberg — are listed as exec producers, alongside SEGA’s Toru Nakahara.
- Emily Feher is apparently running the project day-to-day for 21 Laps.
The 21 Laps stamp is probably a sign that Netflix wants ‘Persona’ to be big. Remember, these are the people who just wrapped the final season of ‘Stranger Things’. Also, Levy’s in that strange place where he’s either doing billion-dollar comic book sequels (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’) or helping produce bizarre horror projects (‘Backrooms’). Apparently, anything’s possible.
What Even Is 'Persona'?
First released back in 1996 as ‘Revelations: Persona’, the series has now got six main games and a ridiculous number of spinoffs (fifteen, at last count). The gist: Japanese teenagers juggling homework and haunted dungeons, dealing with shadowy supernatural nonsense in ways that are, frankly, much more stylish than anything I managed as a teen.
The ‘Persona’ train isn’t slowing down, either:
- ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’ came out in 2025
- ‘Persona 4 Revival’ is out in Feb 2027
- SEGA confirmed in June 2026 that ‘Persona 6’ is in the works
Netflix Loves a Game Adaptation
Honestly, every streamer’s desperate for the next big universe to spin out, and gaming IP is the new gold rush. Netflix has gone big in this department — first with ‘The Witcher’ (before things got, erm, complicated), then ‘Arcane’, ‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’, and ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’. It’s a crowded field, but they’re not letting up.
In Their Own Words (Well, Sort of)
One key thing to note, all this is still officially off the record — Variety broke the story ‘citing sources’, so as ever with early Netflix news, don’t be shocked if half the details change before anything actually starts rolling. But the people they’ve got roped in, and the fact 21 Laps is handling it, suggests Netflix are genuinely serious.