Watch the First ‘Gran Turismo’ Movie Trailer With Orlando Bloom and David Harbour
In case you still aren’t sold on the GT movie, Ginger Spice plays the protagonist’s mother.
With the wild success of stuff like the new Super Mario Bros. movie and HBO's The Last of Us, cinematic reinterpretations of video games have—pun completely intended—really turned a corner recently. Now, it's time for a racing game to get its time in the silver screen spotlight because the first trailer for the upcoming Gran Turismo movie is now out.
Yes, in case you missed it, a movie based on PlayStation's flagship car franchise is happening. No, it won't tell the story of an avid Nissan Skyline collector but rather the real-life story of Jann Mardenborough, a GT Academy winner who went from Gran Turismo gamer to racing cars in real life.
Judging by the trailer, the movie seems very much aware of how ridiculous the entire premise of taking a bunch of "scrawny little gamer kids" and turning them into elite athletes practically overnight is. That said, what's the last great action movie you saw that had a central struggle that was perfectly normal and everyday? Yeah, that's what I thought.
The general impression in The Drive's newsroom is incredulous skepticism so far, but I'm keeping an open mind. Wonder aloud why this movie exists and/or call it a shameless PS5 commercial all you want, but remember that people said similar things about The Lego Movie before that came out and became one of the best animated movies in recent memory. There's also a Barbie movie coming this year that unironically looks like an extremely good time.
So, to those who ask, "Why did they make a Gran Turismo movie?" I say: Why not?
In any case, Neill Blomkamp, best known for District 9, is directing. David Harbour stars as a grizzled driver coach and token video game racer-skeptic, while Orlando Bloom plays the motorsport marketing exec responsible for the whole stunt. If you still aren't sold, Geri Halliwell Horner (aka Ginger Spice) plays Jann's mom.
Gran Turismo will be in theaters Aug. 11.
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