There’s good news for David Harbour fans today as the Stranger Things and MCU star has signed on to star in the upcoming adaptation of the popular racing video game Gran Turismo.
The production comes courtesy of Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions with Neill Blomkamp (District 9) tapped to direct, according to Deadline. Zach Baylan (King Richard) and Jason Hall (Thank You for Your Service) are handling the screenwriting duties for the film.
While it seems like it would be difficult to base a movie around a popular racing simulator known much more for its realism than its plot (there is no plot it’s a racing simulator), the movie will be based on a true story. The real-life inspiration comes from a teenager who plays Gran Turismo and goes from winning competitions playing the game to a real-life professional race car driver.
The first iteration of the game came out in 1997 for the original PlayStation and immediately became a best seller with its high-octane yet realistic racing parameters. There’s been a release on every version of the PlayStation since, and the latest version, Gran Turismo 7, came out in March of this year.
Harbour’s career is red hot. He’s one of the main characters on Stranger Things, a role he’ll reprise for the upcoming fifth and final season. He’s also the Red Guardian in the MCU, and it was recently announced that he’d be reprising the character for the upcoming movie Thunderbolts with Florence Pugh.
PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash told The Hollywood Reporter that the company was excited about the prospect of the film.
“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,” Qizilbash said. “We can’t wait for audiences to see Neill’s vision of this inspiring true story of gamer turned professional race car driver.”
Sony plans to release the film on Aug. 11 of next year.
