Orlando Bloom has joined the cast of upcoming video game adaptation Gran Turismo, where he will co-star opposite Stranger Things favourite David Harbour.
Sony Pictures raised eyebrows when they announced a film version of their wildly popular gaming franchise as it doesn’t have any kind of narrative or recurring characters.
It later emerged that the feature would be based on a true story, following a teenage fan of the Gran Turismo video games who is given the chance to get behind the wheel for real after entering a competition held by Sony and Nissan.
Bloom joins as a marketing executive with a passion for motorsport, while Harbour plays a retired driver who teaches the young protege all he knows.
Archie Madekwe (of Apple TV+ drama See) will play the lucky participant of the competition, which appears to be based on the annual GT Academy programme that ran from 2008 to 2016, giving gamers the chance to get on the track.
Live-action video game adaptations have been treacherous territory for decades, but there’s reason to be hopeful with screenwriters Jason Hall and Zach Baylin attached, who come from awards contenders American Sniper and King Richard respectively.
Meanwhile, Neill Blomkamp is taking the director’s chair, a filmmaker who earned acclaim for his debut District 9, which he followed-up with further sci-fi projects Elysium and Chappie. He also has a video game of his own, a battle-royale called Off the Grid, coming next year.
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Filming on Gran Turismo begins next week in Europe, with the film targeting a release date next August.
Bloom has been relatively absent from blockbuster filmmaking after his lengthy stints on The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises.
More recently, he starred opposite Cara Delevingne in fantasy drama Carnival Row on Prime Video, which was renewed for a second season that is still yet to be released more than three years on from the first.
Gran Turismo will be the second film from PlayStation Productions, a company dedicated to adapting Sony’s video game franchises, which released its first project earlier this year – Uncharted starring Tom Holland.
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