A Gran Turismo movie is officially in the works at Sony Pictures and will race into theaters on August 11, 2023. Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) will direct the film from a screenplay by Jason Hall (American Sniper, Thank You for Your Service). PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan serve as producers alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. While the larger plot details are being kept under wraps, the official logline of Gran Turismo (via Deadline) reads:

It appears Sony is giving Gran Turismo a somewhat meta treatment, and as for the actual story, the plot seems to revolve around the now-defunct GT Academy competition, which was a virtual-to-reality contest run by Nissan and PlayStation that allowed a select few Gran Turismo players to become professional race car drivers.

“Based on a true story, the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver.”

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Jann Mardenborough, a Cardiff teenager and avid Gran Turismo player, became the third and youngest winner of the GT Academy in 2011, beating 90,000 other participants. He was rewarded with a drive for Nissan at the Dubai 24 Hour race. Mardenborough also finished third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 2013.

Sony had free rein when it came to writing the film, considering the Gran Turismo games don’t really have a plot or central characters. But billing a video game adaptation as a “true story” seems like a questionable choice, especially when there is a dearth of actual car racing movies in Hollywood right now since the last Fast & Furious film literally went to space.

As inspiring as Jann Mardenborough’s journey from a virtual to a real-life racer is, can a franchise be formed around it? Because that’s all any studio cares about nowadays, or perhaps Sony is just testing the waters to see if the film will succeed or not. In any case, a Gran Turismo movie is great news for gaming fans, and hopefully, the film remains faithful to the captivating world-building and intense racing that Gran Turismo games are known for.

Sony is Banking on Video Game Adaptations After the Success of Uncharted

     Sony

Sony Pictures hit the jackpot with Uncharted earlier this year. Starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, both controversial choices, by the way, Uncharted grossed $400 million worldwide despite bad reviews and fan backlash. Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 also performed remarkably well, proving there is still some life left in the genre. There is an ongoing resurgence of video game adaptations in Hollywood, with many of them resonating with both fans and critics. Sure there are occasional duds like Halo, but that isn’t stopping studios from greenlighting more and more projects.