Persona live-action series reportedly in the works at Netflix

Netflix is developing a live-action Persona series, according to a report from Variety. The project has Christopher Monfette attached as showrunner, writer, and executive producer — he previously worked on Star Trek: Picard, 12 Monkeys, and 9-1-1. Sega's senior executive officer Toru Nakahara, who produced all three Sonic the Hedgehog films, is also on board as executive producer. Production companies 21 Laps — known for Stranger Things — and Story Kitchen, which has handled game adaptations including Sonic the Hedgehog and has Tomb Raider, It Takes Two, and Vampire Survivors in the pipeline, are both involved. Netflix declined to comment when Variety reached out.

The series would be the first live-action take on the Persona franchise. Anime adaptations already exist — Persona 4 got a series in 2011, Persona 5 ran its own animated show from 2018 to 2019, and a Persona 3 anime miniseries has also been released. The Persona franchise, and the wider Shin Megami Tensei universe it belongs to, has a long history of cross-media projects going back to a novel trilogy. Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal combined had sold 10.46 million copies as of August 2025, making it one of the most commercially successful JRPGs of the past decade.

The timing is notable. Atlus recently announced Persona 6 at the Xbox Games Showcase, and a release date for Persona 4 Revival — a remake of the acclaimed RPG — was also revealed, putting the franchise firmly back in the spotlight. Netflix is clearly leaning hard into game adaptations right now: alongside Persona, it has a live-action Assassin's Creed series in development, movies based on Gears of War and BioShock, a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 anime trailer just dropped, and a partnership with Don't Nod for an unannounced project.

The big question hanging over the project is creative direction. The Persona series is deeply rooted in Japanese high school life, anime aesthetics, and Jungian psychology — elements that don't translate automatically to a Western live-action format. With an overwhelmingly American production setup, whether the show keeps a Japanese setting and cast remains to be seen. No release window has been announced, and Netflix has yet to officially confirm the project exists.