Rev Up for Action: Gran Turismo's Star-Studded Race to the Big Screen

An upcoming movie based on the popular PlayStation racing game, Gran Turismo, is set to hit the big screen. The film is based on a true story and follows the journey of a young aspiring race car driver who wins a series of Gran Turismo competitions. The cast includes Archie Madekwe in the lead role, alongside David Harbour of Stranger Things, Orlando Bloom, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou. As part of our special Summer 2023 Movies Preview, Screen Rant has exclusively released new images from the highly anticipated Gran Turismo movie.

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The high stakes of the true-story-based racing video game adaptation are expertly teased by the featured images. David Harbour's portrayal of a tough love coach is particularly noteworthy, as he nervously watches from the pit while the young Jann Mardenborough takes on a real track. Gran Turismo has the potential to set a new trend for video game adaptations.

After years of unsuccessful attempts to bring beloved video game franchises to life on the big screen, recent adaptations have finally broken the curse. Detective Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Mortal Kombat have all been successful in theaters, with sequels already in the works. Television has also seen its fair share of hits with shows like Netflix's Castlevania and Arcane, as well as HBO's highly anticipated The Last of Us adaptation.

Gran Turismo stands out from recent successful video game adaptations by choosing to base itself on a true story instead of directly adapting the game's source material. This decision makes sense, given that the games themselves don't have a plot. By choosing to work with a story that already exists, rather than creating a new one, Gran Turismo has set itself apart from its peers. Need for Speed, on the other hand, took the latter approach and received only a modest box office response and mostly negative reviews.

While few other gaming franchises may have real-life stories to draw from, Gran Turismo's true story-inspired approach could pave the way for future adaptations. Other creatives are already choosing to take authentic routes to their adaptations, such as HBO's The Last of Us and the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima movie. By exploring different potential routes, video game adaptations can continue to stay fresh and break the "video game adaptation curse."