Gran Turismo Movie On The Way From Fan-Favorite Sci-fi Director

A new Gran Turismo film is on the way, bringing the world's best racing game to the big screen, and a fan-favorite sci-fi director has been attached to direct.

By James Brizuela | Published

Gran Turismo 7

In a surprising turn of events, it has been announced that a new Gran Turismo movie is on the way from a fan-favorite sci-fi director. Which director is that? None other than Neill Blomkamp. Blomkamp has famously written and directed celebrated films like District 9, Elysium, and Chappie. Sony and PlayStation Productions are teaming up to bring the biggest racing game to theaters. The new film is set for August 11, 2023, premiere date.

Neill Blomkamp has been quiet since he released Chappie in 2015. His most recent full-length feature was a horror film called Demonic, which was mostly critically panned. It’s a bit odd to see the man step out of the limelight, as he has only been directed short films for the better part of six years. Gran Turismo might be his comeback film of sorts. It has been announced that Blomkamp and Sony are keeping details about the movie under wraps. All that has been provided is that the film will feature a story revolving around a teenage Gran Turismo player who won a series of Nissan competitions to then become a real racecar driver.

Although the plot of this film sounds a bit farfetched, this situation has happened in real life. This could be more of a biopic or film that is based on a true story. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Nissan, and Polyphony Digital have a program that ran from 2008 to 2016 that has ushered in players of the Gran Turismo game that have gone on to become professional racecar drivers. One such person is Jann Mardenborough, who played the game in his teenage years, which led to his professional racing career. They say that Gran Turismo is one of the most accurate driving simulation games in the world, and that is proven by players becoming professionals after playing.

Making a Gran Turismo live-action adaptation does sound strange, but Sony is doing its diligence when it comes to making films, which they think will be the next blockbuster hit. Although video game movies haven’t all been successful, Sonic the Hedgehog and Uncharted have shown they can still be lucrative if done right. Bringing in celebrated director Neill Blomkamp is sure to excite many fans about this potential racing epic.

Neill Blomkamp is directing the Gran Turismo racing movie based on a script that was written by Jason Hall.  Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan of PlayStation Productions will be handling producing duties alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. There have been no casting announcements yet, but there are sure to be some big names attached to this one. This is considering Uncharted landed Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.

Gran Turismo is set for an August 2023 release window, so there should be some sort of casting announcements to follow the addition of Neill Blomkamp. This might be the change of pace that Blomkamp needs to reintroduce himself back into the blockbuster film realm. District 9 had been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but Blomkamp has yet to achieve that level of success since. We can’t wait to see the man return to true form with this new adaptation.