A new Gran Turismo movie is about to begin filming, based on the life of a gamer kid who became an international racing driver.
Arguably the most popular racing-car game in the world, Gran Turismo, is set to become a Hollywood blockbuster.
After almost a decade of rumours, The Hollywood Reporter says Sony is in pre-production on a Gran Turismo film, to be written by American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall and directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium).
Actor David Harbour, who has appeared in Stranger Things, The Newsroom, and Bond film Quantum of Solace, is expected to feature in the GT movie alongside Orlando Bloom, star of Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The film is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough – played by Archie Madekwe – who began his career on the Playstation game, eventually beating 90,000 other participants from across the globe in the GT Academy to win a drive with Nissan at the (real-life) Dubai 24 Hour race in 2011.
Mardenborough then competed in the British GT Championship, with the Brit later racing in the Japanese Super GT series.
“As one of PlayStation’s longest standing and most beloved franchises, it’s great to be partnering with Columbia Pictures again to bring Gran Turismo to life in an exciting way,” PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“We can’t wait for audiences to see Neill’s vision of this inspiring true story of gamer turned professional race car driver.”
A Gran Turismo film was originally announced back in 2013, though it appears that project never made it off the ground – possibly due to the lack of a compelling storyline.
Filming for Gran Turismo is expected to take place in the coming months, with a theatrical release planned for 11 August 2023.
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