Sony’s Gran Turismo games are getting the Hollywood treatment with an upcoming movie. A sneak peek just dropped, and shows off some of the big names at the wheel. The film is directed by Neil Blomkamp, and features David Harbour and Orlando Bloom supporting lead Archie Madekwe (known from Apple TV Plus series See).
titleSony's Gran Turismo movie is based on a true story — Everything we know
Having always been more a simulation than story, the Gran Turismo games are perhaps a surprising choice for a movie makeover. They are more of an homage to the story of the car itself — Gran Turismo 7 opens with an 8-minute video history of the automotive. Then again, perhaps a blank slate is a good thing considering the forgettable Need For Speed movie.
Rather than creating an original narrative, the movie will focus instead on a real-life story spawned from the game itself as it follows young British racing hopeful Jann Mardenborough (played by Archie Madekwe) who went from playing on his PlayStation to real-life GT racing after winning the third series of the Gran Turismo academy. Mardenborough currently races in Sony’s native Japan in the Super GT series.
Gran Turismo movie release date
Gran Turismo is getting a theatrical-exclusive release on August 11, 2023.
Gran Turismo movie first look
In the below clip, Archie Madekwe, who plays Jann Mardenborough says the Gran Turismo film will feature both "drama" and "a love story." We also see two of his very excited co-stars, Orlando Bloom (declaring the movie is made for the theaters) and David Harbour who talks about how "it doesn't get any better than this."
Gran Turismo movie cast and crew
With Neil Blomkamp of Chappie, Elysium, and District 9 fame (although don’t expect any crossover) directing, we could be in for a treat. Audiences can likely expect his typical documentary-style camera work and true-to-life filmmaking as we see Jann become the professional race driver he is today.
The video itself doesn’t hint at much story-wise but the cinematography with plenty of drone shots resembles the game's camera to a striking degree. We do also learn the names of Harbour and Bloom’s characters. Harbour plays Jack Salter, Jann’s trainer, while Bloom is Danny Moore a motorsport marketing executive.
Spice Girl Gerri Halliwell-Horner (who is of course married to Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner) is also set to feature, but I doubt we will see Jann racing against Sergio Perez or a profanity-laced Max Verstappen.
