David Harbour is revving his engines. The Stranger Things star has signed on to star in 'Gran Turismo', the Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions feature adaptation of the best-selling racing video game, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporters.
Neill Blomkamp, best known for his sci-fi movies such as District 9 and Elysium, is hitting where the rubber meets the road with this one, directing the project that has a script by Jason Hall (American Sniper) and Zach Baylin (King Richard).
Based on a true story, the project is described as the ultimate wish-fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won him a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver.
Harbour will play a retired driver who teaches the teen to drive.
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PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan, as well as Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti, are producing. Game creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Hall are executive producing.
“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,” said Qizilbash in a statement. “We can’t wait for audiences to see Neill’s vision of this inspiring true story of gamer turned professional race car driver.”
Sony is planning a theatrical release for Turismo on Aug. 11, 2023.
Gran Turismo was revolutionary when it first debuted in 1997 on the PlayStation, capturing the feeling of actually being behind the wheel better than any other game had at that point. With sequels released across the many PlayStation platforms in the years since, Turismo is reportedly the top-selling Sony franchise of all time.
After years of fits and starts, Sony and PlayStation Productions seem to finally be finding their groove with video game adaptations. Uncharted, which starred Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, earned over $400 million worldwide when it was released earlier this year. A TV version of The Last of Us is in production and headed to HBO. Also in the works are a movie version of Ghost of Tsushima, with Chad Stahelski attached to direct, and a series take on Twisted Metal, being written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and set to star Anthony Mackie.
Harbour appeared onstage at D23, the Disney convention, last weekend, where it was revealed that he would be reprising his Black Widow role of Red Guardian for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Thunderbolts movie.
He was seen in Steven Soderbergh’s 2021 noir thriller No Sudden Move and recently wrapped shooting action flick Violent Night for Universal. His turn in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf on Broadway earned him a Tony nomination.
The actor, who will return to his role of Jim Hopper for the final season of Stranger Things, is repped by WME and Sloane Offer.
