What if Crash Bandicoot had been the first video game movie? Sega’s Shuji Utsumi says it almost happened.
In an alternate universe, Crash Bandicoot could’ve been Hollywood’s first major video game movie star.
Long before The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned over $1.3 billion worldwide and Sonic the Hedgehog became a family favourite, Hollywood had the opportunity to adapt Crash Bandicoot, but passed on the opportunity.
In a recent interview on The Game Business Show, Shuji Utsumi, CEO of Sega America and Europe, revealed an interesting piece of gaming history: years before video game movies were mainstream, he pitched a Crash Bandicoot film to major studios. But the response he got was dismissive at best.
Utsumi said:
“When I started to get involved in the video game business, I picked up Crash Bandicoot and started asking some of the movie studios if they were interested in turning that property into a movie. But I was treated like… ‘hey, video games is like a toy business.’ They didn’t really take it seriously.”
When you look at the material Hollywood could have worked with, Crash’s story, centered on the genetically enhanced bandicoot and his sister Coco as they battle the villainous Doctor Neo Cortex on the fantastical Wumpa Islands, has long seemed like a natural fit for a family-friendly animated feature.
With attributes like vibrant characters and a good bit of movie-friendly humor, it's surprising it never made it to the big screen, especially considering multiple attempts over the years to bring it to life in some form.
A History of Almosts
The idea of Crash making the jump from console to cinema isn't new.
During the production of the original game in the 1990s, Universal Animation Studios created hand-drawn intro and outro scenes, hoping they could be used as the foundation for an animated series. However, these scenes were shelved when Sony pushed for a focus on the PlayStation’s 3D capabilities. They later resurfaced on YouTube thanks to producer David Siller.
In 2007, Crash of the Titans was promoted with a series of animated web shorts that hinted at the character’s transmedia potential once again.
In 2021, test footage from an abandoned Crash Bandicoot animated series, reportedly a collaboration between Activision and Amazon Studios, was leaked online. The series was reportedly cancelled due to creative differences.
And most recently, in 2023, Crash developer Toys for Bob tweeted directly at Sony Pictures Animation in response to the Mario Movie:
“With the plumber boy’s incredible cinematic run, we think it’s time for Crash’s theatrical debut! What say you?”
With the plumber boy's incredible cinematic run, we think it's time for Crash's theatrical debut! What say you, @SonyAnimation? https://t.co/Kq6S4v6Uui pic.twitter.com/DZlFjSZyPa
— Toys For Bob (@ToysForBob) April 23, 2023
The tweet generated excitement among the fanbase, but no official announcements followed.
Could A Crash Movie Still Happen?
While there's no official confirmation of a Crash Bandicoot movie in the works, the possibility feels plausible.
Speaking in the same interview on The Game Business Show, Sega president Shuji Utsumi reflected on how far the industry has come since he first pitched Crash Bandicoot as a film project.
He said:
“Video games are finally getting to be the culture, and that’s moving into the movie business. That’s a big shift for the industry that I am really happy about.”
Utsumi also emphasized that Sega is now expanding its franchises beyond games, inspired in part by the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog films, which had a “major impact” on the Sonic franchise, including a “significant boost” in game sales.
As part of this broader vision, Sega has restructured its Japanese studios to adopt a global-first approach:
“We changed the attitude to say: ‘Hey, all the gamers in the world are our audience,’” Utsumi said. Launching international and Japanese versions simultaneously across all platforms, including PC, is now part of the strategy.
“By changing the system, studios started to prepare for things at the earliest stages, and this has helped their thinking process when developing a game.”
Given this shift in mindset and the company’s intent to expand other IPs, a Crash Bandicoot movie may no longer be a far-fetched idea, even if nothing is in sight just yet.
What do you think, would Crash Bandicoot make for great movie material or are you tired of seeing game franchises be turned into movies? Tell us in the comments!