Sony’s Gran Turismo The movie is heating up as it casts The Lord of the Rings’ Orlando Bloom and The Stranger’s David Harbour.
Earlier this year, Sony announced that it would be making a Gran Turismo movie, certainly an option for a series not exactly known for its narrative. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Stranger Things and Black Widow star David Harbour will be joining the film, though details of his role have yet to be announced. Shortly after, it was announced that Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom would also be in the film.
District 9 and Chappie director Neil Blomkamp will direct the project, with a script from Jason Hall (American Sniper). On the production side, PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan will be producing alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. A Gran Turismo movie has actually been in development since 2013, but it’s unclear if this is the same movie, or an attempt at another movie.
While the movie is about racing, the plot itself sounds a little weird. The film is apparently based on a true story about a teenage Gran Turismo player whose virtual driving abilities have won them a series of Nissan races, leading them to become a true professional racer. The teen in question will be played by rising star Archie Madekwe, who starred alongside Jason Momoa (Aquaman) on the Apple TV+ series See.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Harbour will apparently play a retired driver who will teach Madekwe’s character to drive, while Bloom will play “a hungry marketing executive who’s selling motorsports…and will probably believe it too. the art of”.
Nor is it the only live-action adaptation of Sony’s IP currently in development. Earlier this year, Sony announced that Amazon Prime was working on the God of War show, while Netflix was working on the Horizon Zero Dawn project. Although these two don’t seem to be as far as Gran Turismo is.
The Gran Tursimo film is currently set to hit theaters on August 11, 2023, with filming finally set to begin in Europe next week.
