It seems David Harbour is looking to get behind the wheel. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the Stranger Things star has signed on to star in the feature film adaptation of the hit video game series Gran Turismo, with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp attached to direct.
Gran Turismo is a racing game franchise built around grounded realism. With players driving real cars that are designed to feel and handle like the car would in real life. The games do not have any overarching story, leaving many fans wondering what the film could possibly be about. Well, according to reports, it will be going in a meta direction. Gran Turismo will be based on a true story of a teenage fan of the game series whose gaming skills earned him a chance to become a professional race car driver. Harbour is said to be playing a retired driver who teaches the teen how to drive.
Harbour quickly became a household name when Stranger Things became a worldwide phenomenon in 2016. Prior to that, he appeared in other hit series like The Newsroom and Manhattan and films like Revolutionary Road and Quantum of Solace. Since Stranger Things, Harbour has joined the MCU in Black Widow, rebooted Hellboy, and lent his voice to Star Wars: Visions. He can next be seen in Violent Night, playing an action hero Santa Claus, and in the Netflix comedy, We Have A Ghost. Additionally, it was recently announced that he is set to return to the MCU in Thunderbolts.
Gran Turismo will be only the second film directed by Blomkamp since 2015’s Chappie. The other is Demonic, a low-budget horror film he filmed secretly during the pandemic. But, since Chappie, he has made a plethora of short films that span genres from action to science fiction to comedy. Blomkamp will be directing the film from a script by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin. Hall has been nominated for an Academy Award for writing American Sniper. Baylin has previously written King Richard, which got him an Academy Award nomination, and has also written the upcoming Creed III.
Gran Turismo will be produced by Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan for PlayStation Productions with Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. Additionally, Hall will be executive producing alongside the game’s creator Kazunori Yamauchi. About the upcoming adaptation, Qizilbash gave a statement:
“As one of PlayStation’s longest standing and most beloved franchises, it’s great to be partnering with Columbia Pictures again to bring Gran Turismo to life in an exciting way. We can’t wait for audiences to see Neill’s vision of this inspiring true story of gamer turned professional race car driver.”
Currently, Gran Turismo is scheduled to be released in theaters on August 11, 2023. Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on this project.