Update: It has now been announced that “Lord of the Rings” star Orlando Bloom will also take part in the “Gran Turismo” film. Which role he will take on and how big it will ultimately be is not yet known.
The fact that video game adaptations are not always the best ideas is not only often apparent from the quality of the productions, but also from the box office results, where the adaptations of any console or PC hits often fall short of expectations. With “Gran Turismo”, however, we are facing a project that certainly makes us want more. Because as the Hollywood Reporter has now announced, “Stranger Things” and Marvel star David Harbour will take on the leading role here.
Before Harbour could rise to become a real audience favourite in “Stranger Things” and “Black Widow”, where he was seen as the Red Guardian, the actor has already proven his versatility in various genre productions such as “War Of The Worlds”, “End Of Watch”, “The Equalizer”, “Rest In Peace – A Walk Among The Tombstones” or “Hellboy – Call Of Darkness”. This fits quite well, because the director of “Gran Turismo” is also a man whose love for genre cinema is undisputed: “District 9” and “Elysium” maker Neill Blomkamp.
His adaptation of the PlayStation-exclusive series is part of a major offensive by Sony, which is currently trying to transfer many of its own video game brands to other media. The big screen adventure “Uncharted” with Tom Holland made a start here a few months ago. The HBO series adaptation of the gaming masterpiece “The Last Of Us”, which will be launched next year, is also being eagerly awaited.
The NEXT “FAST & FURIOUS”?!
The “Gran Turismo” series is unquestionably one of the most famous and popular video game series ever. In the “GT” franchise, which now has seven parts, you take on the role of a player who has to take part in races against other drivers in order to increase his bank balance. You then have the opportunity to use this capital to modify your car, improve its performance, withstand the continuously increasing level of difficulty of the races and gradually become a professional.
This naturally leads to the assumption that “Gran Turismo” is also moving somewhere in the direction of “Fast & Furious” – and car lovers will certainly get their money’s worth. But thanks to Neill Blomkamp, you can definitely expect a film that offers more than just satisfying the tuning and speed fetish of the countless screwdrivers and tin feet on the roads. Blomkampf himself describes the project as the “ultimate wish fulfilment”. The script, meanwhile, was written by Jason Hall (“American Sniper”) and Zach Baylin (“King Richard”).
