Here’s a Surreal First Look at the ‘Gran Turismo’ Movie

Gran Turismo hits cinemas on Aug. 11.
Sony Pictures

If you forced me to write a list of all the video game franchises ripe for film adaptation — a transition that historically has not been easy — Gran Turismo would not be in the top 10. But a movie version of Sony’s acclaimed and beloved racing simulator is indeed coming, and we now have a sneak peek. It looks surreal as hell.

The teaser trailer features all the vroom vroom you’d expect, with quotes from stars Orlando Bloom, David Harbour and Archie Madekwe about how this is a film made for the cinemas, about how it’s about more than cars, it’s about drama and a love story too. 

So yes, Lord of the Rings’ Legolas teaming up with Stranger Things’ Jim Hopper for a Gran Turismo movie directed by District 9’s Neill Blomkamp? It will absolutely be something. Check out the full teaser below.

The sneak peek came alongside an announcement at Sony’s press conference at CES in Las Vegas that Gran Turismo 7, the most recent installment in the series, would get a free upgrade to VR when Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 headset launches.

The Gran Turismo series of racing games began in 1997, and don’t really have a plot or characters that can be adapted. So the movie draws on a true story described by Sony as “the ultimate wish fulfilment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver.” 

Following the success of its Uncharted film adaptation, which grossed over $400 million at the global box office, Sony is going all-in on taking its gaming properties to film and TV. Other upcoming PlayStation adaptations include TV shows based on Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War (Amazon Prime Video), The Last of Us (HBO) and Twisted Metal (Peacock), and a movie based on Ghost of Tsushima.