Move over Mattel: PlayStation Pictures is the latest IP-owner to bring their much-loved brands to the big screen and next up they’re focusing on racing simulator Gran Turismo.
First released on PlayStation’s original console back in 1997, Gran Turismo has gone on to become one of the most popular racing game franchises of recent years. Multiple Gran Turismo game sequels later and Neill Blomkamp, director of modern sci-fi classics like District 9 and Chappie and operator of CGI playground Oats Studios, is bringing this title to the big screen.
If you’re wondering how a racing game can be compelling enough to convince you to part with your precious time then you’ll be glad to know that Blomkamp’s movie has an interesting real-life twist.
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If that piqued your interest enough to get your brain in gear, read on to learn everything we know about the Gran Turismo movie, including its plot, release date, trailers and more.
Gran Turismo release date
The Gran Turismo movie will be speeding its way towards a cinema near you from Friday, 11 August 2023.
It doesn’t matter if you’re reading this from the United Kingdom or America as the film has the same release date in both territories.
Gran Turismo first reactions
First reactions to Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo movie have started to surface online ahead of its early August debut and they suggest PlayStation’s adaptation doesn’t need a cheat code to achieve success.
The #GranTurismo movie is a winner.
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) July 12, 2023
The shocking true story told here races laps around most video game titles as films. Found myself hooked, especially in the second half. Slick racing with creative nods for gamers. Great work from David Harbour & Archie Madekwe. Good movie! pic.twitter.com/ianMi6Ogen
#GranTurismo is the real deal and a glorious, crowd-pleasing return to form for Neill Blomkamp, who directs the hell out of this based-on-a-true-story sports movie. Blomkamp mixes visceral reality with heightened videogame-ish flourishes to great effect, plus real emotionality 🏎️ pic.twitter.com/KLyTeP7fLA
— Drew Taylor (@DrewTailored) July 12, 2023
Geeks of Color writer Robert Butler III chimed in, saying: “Add #GranTurismo to the list of incredible video game adaptations this year.
“A turbo-boosted sports epic that knows precisely when to accelerate & slow down its pace. Star Archie Madekwe channels the nimbly courageous gamer inside all of us. David Harbour steals the show.”
Perri Nemiroff at Collider added: “Really dug how they incorporated certain game visuals into the movie — and Neill Blomkamp’s style for the film in general for that matter.
“Lots of very effective handheld and more intimate camera work with real texture that makes it all feel visceral, and really brings you close to the characters and the action.”
Gran Turismo plot
The Gran Turismo series is known for its accurate simulation of real life racing, but not for its compelling narrative.
In bringing the series to life, PlayStation Pictures has given the movie a meta-tweak, blending it with the remarkable journey of Jann Mardenborough. As a teenager, the Darlington-born Mardenborough was obsessed with playing the Gran Turismo games and went on to win a number of Nissan-sponsored competitions.
Behind the scenes, Mardenborough secretly harboured a desire to turn his passion into a real-life profession. As it turns out, that’s exactly what he did — going on to defy the odds and use his Gran Turismo gaming skills to become a fully-fledged professional racing driver.
It’s this story that Blomkamp is bringing to audiences, mining the unlikeliness of Mardenborough’s journey and splicing it with some edge-of-your-seat racing sequences, starry names and cutting-edge graphics to heighten the storytelling.
Gran Turismo cast
Playing Mardenborough is Archie Madekwe, a name you’ll likely recognise from Ari Aster’s Midsommar and Apple TV’s series See. He’s flanked by Stranger Things star David Harbour who plays his racing trainer Jack Salter, a figure who’s at first sceptical at this young gamer’s dreams to become a real-life driver — but who soon gets proven wrong.
Joining them is Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom who plays Danny Moore, the motorsports marketing man who spots an unexpected and crowd-pleasing story in Mardenborough’s dreams of swapping his console for a real-life racetrack.
Bloom’s role is reportedly based in part on GT Academy founder Darren Cox.
Rounding out Blomkamp’s cast is Gladiator star Djimon Hounsou as Mardenborough’s dad and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell Horner as his mum. Never Have I Ever cast member Darren Barnet also appears as another professional driver who feels threatened by Mardenborough’s sudden appearance in the cockpit.
Gran Turismo trailer
As the movie’s release date gets closer, Gran Turismo’s second trailer doubled down on the themes established in its adrenalin-pumping first look, this time with even more burnt-rubber action.
We also get a deeper look into the self-doubt plaguing Mardenborough’s journey — something that ultimately becomes the fuel that helps him achieve his goals.
With Gran Turismo’s first full trailer, Blomkamp invited viewers into the high-octane world of professional racing where we meet a young gamer with a lofty dream.
As Harbour’s racer-training pro Salter initially casts doubt on Bloom’s character’s vision of transforming this console king into a main player, we slowly see Mardenborough prove everyone wrong.
Gran Turismo hits in UK and American cinemas on Friday, 11 August 2023.
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