Gran Turismo is the next prestige PlayStation franchise to get the movie treatment (and beyond). years to talk about it, as was also the case with that of 2022 Not charted). On Tuesday, Sony Pictures gave fans another look at what’s to come with a new trailer.
Tuesday’s trailer expands on the film’s story after a minute-long teaser Sony showed at CES 2023 in January. Gran Turismo, directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will be based on the story of a real driver John Mardenborougha British professional racing driver whose 12-year career has taken him to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Japanese Super GT series.
Mardenborough’s career began in 2011 at the Gran Turismo Academy, a PlayStation 3 competition where he beat over 90,000 entrants to win a place with Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hours. Despite having no serious motorsport experience, Mardenborough placed third in class in the endurance event.
So Gran Turismo will tell a classic, phenomenal sports story, albeit someone who discovers his amazing talent thanks to a video game. So it’s kind of like The Last Starfighter, except for cars and not Gunstars.
Archie Madekwe will star as Mardenborough, with Geri Halliwell Horner – aka Ginger Spice, and wife of Formula 1 Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner – as his mother, Lesley Mardenborough. Djimon Hounsou headlines the cast as Mardenborough’s father, Steve, an English footballer of some fame in the 1980s and 1990s. David Harbor and Orlando Bloom also star.
Gran Turismo premieres in theaters on August 11.