There are underdog movies all over the place, but few of them actually involve race car drivers that are real people, except the upcoming Gran Turismo movie. The trailer is out now, and it's not some joke. It's based on the true story of Nissan race car driver Jann Mardenborough who successfully competed to become a professional driver. The Gran Turismo movie is the next PlayStation franchise to actually hit the silver screen. The trailer bowed on Tuesday, and you can watch it below.
As you can see, it's not just some race car movie with bad actors. It stars David Harbour from Netflix's popular sci-fi series, Stranger Things, as well as Orlando Bloom from the famous Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. It's directed by Neill Blomkamp, who is known for the sci-fi movie, District 9. The movie follows Mardenborough as he works his way through the ranks of video game racing and then onto track life. The movie also stars Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough, Djimon Hounsou, and Geri Halliwell of Spice Girls fame but who also happens to the wife of F1 Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner.
A British gamer, Mardenborough entered the 2011 Gran Turismo Academy, a PlayStation 3 competition where he competed against over 90,000 entrants to win a seat with Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour endurance race. Despite no actual background in the rigorous sport, Mardenborough placed an astounding third in his class at the endurance event.
Mardenborough went on to compete in the Formula 3 European Championship, the GP3 Series, and the GP2 Series. He also raced in the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished an impressive third in the LMP2 class in his first attempt in 2013. The movie focuses on his rise from gamer to racer, and it debuts in movie theaters on August 11, 2023.
