Unlike ‘Super Mario Bros.’, ‘Grand Turismo’ Won’t Be Your Typical Video Game Movie

in Movies, Video Games

David Habor

Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures and PlayStation released the first trailer for Grand Turismo (2023), but it’s not exactly based on the 26-year-old racing simulator franchise.

Orlando Bloom on set
Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Related: Five Reasons Why “Jedi: Survivor” Is Peak ‘Star Wars’

Unlike Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, the Grand Turismo video games have never really had a storyline for gamers to follow. It’s simply one of the most accurate racing simulators to be turned into a video game. So how did Hollywood find a way to turn the racing game into a movie? By adapting the real-life story of race car driver Jann Mardenborough, who started his career by playing video games. 

Grand Turismo (2023) is a unique take on a video game movie. It’s the equivalent of making a film about E-sports competitors. Sony Pictures and PlayStation are centering the movie around Mardenborough, who became a driver after winning a Grand Turismo 5 online competition, qualifying him to be in an actual race.

jann mardenborough
Credit: MotoTrend

Related: ‘Super Mario Bros’ Movie Set to Cross $1 Billion Box Office Haul

The GT Academy was created with a Nissan partnership to take gamers and test their skills on a real track. The gamers proved to be more than just video game nerds; some of them were actually very talented on the course. And by the end of the third competition, Mardenborough was the last young man standing, making him the youngest GT Academy winner at 19. He was rewarded with his Nissan race car and entered the Dubai 24-Hour race. 

From driving race cars on his couch to driving them in real life, Sony Pictures found a story worth telling in Mardenborough’s rags-to-races journey. The movie is directed by Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9 (2009), and stars Djimon Hounsou, Orlando Bloom, and Stranger Things’ David Harbour. Mardenborough will be portrayed by English actor Archie Madekwe, Midsommar (2019). 

Grand Turismo (2023) looks to be an inspiring film based on actual events, which could be more interesting than forcing a storyline out of a game that doesn’t really have one. Perhaps this could be a better watch than 2014’s Need for Speed.

Fans of racing and gaming will be able to catch Mardenborough’s story when Grand Turismo races into theaters on August 11, 2023. 

Are you looking forward to Grand Turismo (2023)? Let us know in the comments. 

Comments Off on Unlike ‘Super Mario Bros.’, ‘Grand Turismo’ Won’t Be Your Typical Video Game Movie