Sony and Neill Blomkamp feel the need, the need for Gran Turismo

The long-delayed film has a release date and a director: District 9's Neill Blomkamp

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  June 15, 2022 | 2:37am
Aux News Neill Blomkamp
Sony and Neill Blomkamp feel the need, the need for Gran Turismo
Players at the LA Auto Show Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN (AFP via Getty Images)

It’s been nearly 10 years since Sony began its grand plan to make viewers believe a man can drive. The studio announced the long-gestating Gran Turismo film back in 2013. But it also let Need For Speed jump on the Fast & Furious rip-off grenade in 2014, and the studio became cagey about when Gran Turismo would back out of the garage and impress the neighbors with a really loud muffler.

Hence, the movie never materialized. Fans of the early-00s counterfeit Fast & Furious movies, such as Torque and Biker Boyz, would have to wait for their renaissance.

They don’t have to wait much longer.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Sony and PlayStation Productions announced that the Gran Turismo film is coming onAugust 11, 2023 and that Neill Blomkamp will direct it. Deadline released the film’s logline:

Based on a true story, the film is the ultimate wish-fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver

Presumably, the film will focus on the community surrounding the game instead of the game itself. Players of the game have gone on to real racing careers. However, the logline makes the movie sound like The Wizard.

Blomkamp’s relationship with big studios is apparently on the upswing. After District 9, everyone was all in on Blomkamp. Then Elysium came and went, and Blomkamp attached himself to some of the most beloved sci-fi properties of all time, including Alien and RoboCop. Those never panned out, but he did make Chappie, which gave us that incredible Chappie tweet, and the lockdown project Demonic.

Sony wants more video game movies in the wake of Uncharted’s $400 million box office. This all makes sense, considering we live in the A.U. (After Uncharted) era, where we’re constantly quoting our favorite lines from that fondly-remembered four-month-old film.

 
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