AGran Turismomovie is officially in the works at Sony Pictures and will race into theaters on June 27, 2025.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 ofGran Turismo(viaDeadline) reads:
“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.”
It appears Sony is givingGran Turismoa 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 fewGran Turismoplayers to become professional race car drivers.
Jann Mardenborough, a Cardiff teenager and avidGran Turismoplayer, 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 theGran Turismogames 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 lastFast & Furiousfilm 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, aGran Turismomovie is great news for gaming fans, and hopefully, the film remains faithful to the captivating world-building and intense racing thatGran Turismogames are known for.
Related:Explained: Here’s Why Video Game Movie Adaptations Often Disappoint Fans
Sony is Banking on Video Game Adaptations After the Success ofUncharted
Sony Pictureshit the jackpot withUnchartedearlier this year. Starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, both controversial choices, by the way,Unchartedgrossed $400 million worldwide despite bad reviews and fan backlash. Paramount’sSonic the Hedgehog 2also 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 likeHalo, but that isn’t stopping studios from greenlighting more and more projects.
The highly anticipatedGod of Waradaptation,which has been languishing in development hell for years, is finally happening at Amazon, while Netflix is tacklingHorizon Zero Dawn. Sony has also announced aGhost of Tsushimamovie with Chad Stahelski(John Wick) directing and Takashi Doscher penning the script. Then there’sTwisted Metalat Peacock andThe Last of Usat HBO, which both premiere next year. Hopefully, they’ll fare better with fans than some of the recent game adaptations.
