Since 1997, Sony has sold more than 80 million copies of the Gran Turismo racing video game for its various PlayStation gaming consoles. This makes it the world's second best-selling racing game, behind Need for Speed.
The announcement of a Gran Turismo movie was made back in 2013, but it never seemed to go anywhere. Fast forward to May of this year and the project has resurfaced with news that it's finally been given the green light for release next year.
Sony Pictures has finally confirmed that filming for the long-awaited movie has begun, in a post on Twitter.
Filming is now underway on #GranTurismoMovie - based on the inspiring true story of a Gran Turismo player, Jann Mardenborough, who won a series of gaming competitions leading him to become an actual professional racecar driver.pic.twitter.com/gV13gEg2G5
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) November 12, 2022
As previously reported, the Gran Turismo movie is based on a true story. Jann Mardenborough, a British teenager, won a competition to race in real life by playing the Gran Turismo video game. In 2011, against more than 90,000 other gamers, Mardenborough participated and won the grand prize of driving for Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour endurance race.
Since then, Mardenborough has raced in multiple real-world racing championships, including the open-wheel GP3 and GP2 Series and Japan's Super GT touring-car competition.
Neill Blomkamp, known for his works District 9 and Elysium, will be directing Gran Turismo. Archie Madekwe will play Mardenborough, with Hollywood stars Orlando Bloom and David Harbour cast as well. The movie Gran Turismo will debut in theaters on August 11, 2023.
Source: Sony Pictures
