Gran Turismo is the next PlayStation prestige franchise to get the cinematic treatment (and after years of talking about it, as was also the case with 2022’s Uncharted). On Tuesday, Sony Pictures gave fans another look at what’s coming with a new trailer.
Tuesday’s trailer expands on the film’s story following a minute-long teaser Sony showed during CES 2023 back in January. Gran Turismo, directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will be based on the story of real-life driver Jann Mardenborough, a British professional racing driver whose 12-year career has taken him to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Japan’s Super GT series.
Mardenborough’s career began in 2011 at the Gran Turismo Academy, a PlayStation 3 competition where he beat more than 90,000 entrants to win a seat with Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour. Despite no serious real-life motorsports experience, Mardenborough placed third in his class at the endurance event.
So Gran Turismo will tell a classic, phenom-outta-nowhere sports story, albeit one who discovers his amazing talent thanks to a video game. So it’s somewhat like The Last Starfighter, except for cars and not Gunstars.
Archie Madekwe will star as Mardenborough, with Geri Halliwell Horner — also known as 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 renown during the 1980s and 1990s. David Harbour and Orlando Bloom also star.
Gran Turismo will premiere in theaters on Aug. 11.