Sony and Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo is off to the races as far as casting is concerned. The adaptation of Sony’s best-selling racing video game franchise stars David Harbour (Hellboy, Stranger Things, Black Widow), Orlando Bloom (Carnival Row, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean), and Archie Madekwe (Midsommar, See). Now, The Hollywood Reporter says Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever) is along for the ride.
Produced by PlayStation Production’s Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Doug Belgrad, and Dana Brunetti, Gran Turismo boasts a screenplay by Jason Hall and Zach Baylan. Kazunori Yamauchi, who created the game, executive produces alongside Hall. Word around the water cooler is Gran Turismo is based on a true story. The project 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.”
After a few weeks of not knowing who people will play in the film, we can shine headlights on the project’s casting. Madekwe plays the teen who wins the Nissan competition, while Harbour plays the retired driver who teaches him the road rules. Bloom stars as a money-loving executive, and Barnet plays a rival racer at the GT academy.
Sony’s Gran Turismo franchise has sold 80 million copies worldwide, with the latest installment, Gran Turismo 7, released on March 4, 2022. Despite making the ultimate Gran Turismo experience in Gran Turismo 7, the game upset dedicated players by introducing an exploitative monetization system. Sony quickly scrambled to pump the brakes on the complaints, finding themselves more at odds with players than before.
Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo is based on actual events, making this video game adaptation different than other game-to-screen endeavors. What kind of liberties Hall and Baylan will take with the story remains to be seen, but it should be interesting to see what drives the characters toward their ultimate destination.
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