Sony confirms Gran Turismo movie in the works with District 9 director on board

Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions have confirmed that a Gran Turismo movie is on its way – and it's set to be directed by District 9 helmer Neill Blomkamp.

According to Deadline, the official logline for the driving video game's adaptation reads: "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."

Some fans of the source material reckon that might mean it'll follow a candidate from the GT Academy, which saw skilled gamers compete to join a real-life racing team, sponsored by Nissan between 2008 and 2016.

American Sniper scribe Jason Hall has written the screenplay, while PlayStation Productions' Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan are signed up as producers alongside Doug Belgrad, and Dana Brunetti. As it stands, the flick – a follow-up to the studios' last video-game-to-movie endeavour, Uncharted, which earned over $400 million at the global box office – is scheduled to release in US cinemas on August 11, 2023.

Gran Turismo, or whatever its official title turns out to be, is just one of the adaptations PlayStation has in the works currently. Back in May, it was announced that a TV series based on sci-fi game Horizon Zero Dawn is in development, filming on HBO's The Last of US wrapped recently, and Will Arnett has signed on to voice Sweet Tooth in a Twisted Metal show headed to Peacock. Last year, Sony revealed that a Ghost of Tsushima movie is in the pipeline, and there's also talk of a God of War series being made with Amazon.

Blomkamp's Gran Turismo movie will skid into cinemas on August 11, 2023. In the meantime, check out our roundup of other upcoming movies that are set to be released in 2022 and beyond.