The film adaptation of the popular racing franchise, Gran Turismo, received its first trailer and revealed a poster featuring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom.
Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough—the British professional racing driver who competed in the Japanese Super GT series—Gran Turismo takes reality and molds it into PlayStation’s popular racing franchise of the same name. Directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie), this adaptation takes a gamer utilizing his skills to win a series of Nissan competitions on to becoming a real driver.
Gran Turismo stars David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings), and Archie Madekwe, while Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy) also make appearances in the upcoming racing flick. Madekwe plays the film’s protagonist, with Harbour taking on the role of his racing trainer, Hounsou as the teenager’s father, and Bloom as a marketing executive.
The screenplay is written by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin (King Richard, Creed III). The film is being produced by Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions, Trigger Street Productions, and 2.0 Entertainment. With the increasing popularity of video games making their way to the silver screen and especially considering the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, fans should expect to see more films like this in the future.
Gran Turismo was created in 1997 by developer Polyphony Digital—helmed by the illustrious Kazunori Yamauchi. With an emphasis on realism, this franchise helped move the racing simulation genre forward with leading technology and gameplay. Over the course of its history, Gran Turismo has had 14 entries and its sales have exceeded more than 80 million units, making it the best-selling video game franchise for Sony’s PlayStation brand.
Gran Turismo is set to release on August 11th, 2023 via Sony Pictures.
