Orlando Bloom Joins Cast Of Sony's 'Gran Turismo' Movie

Movie superstarOrlando Bloom has found his next project, and it's a film adaptation of a major video game franchise.

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Bloom has been cast for Sony's "Gran Turismo" film adaptation, based on the long-running Sony PlayStation racing game series. Bloom joins the cast opposite "Stranger Things" star David Harbour and Archie Madekwe ("Midsommar") for the upcoming project. Neill Blomkamp ("District 9," "Elysium") is attached to direct the video game movie.

As THR reports, Bloom is set to portray a "hungry" marketing executive who is looking to sell motor racing, but he also might have some belief in the sport's art as well. Madekwe stars in the film, which is said to be based on a true story, about a teen "Gran Turismo" game player, who transferred his gaming skills to become a professional race car driver and won a series of Nissan competitions. The script is written by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin.

Madekwe will portray the teen racer who sets out to become a real competitive racecar driver. Meanwhile, Harbour will play Madekwe's retired driver and eventual coach who teaches him how to drive for real.

Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions are producing the film adaptation, based on the hit gaming series that first debuted on the original PlayStation console in December 1997. The game series passed more than 80.4 global franchise sales in 2018, making it the highest-selling PlayStation game franchise of all time.

Orlando Bloom, 45, is no stranger to major film franchises adapted from popular IP. He starred in "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" film trilogies, based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. He also starred in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series, based on the popular Disney theme park attraction. However, this is his first foray into a film based on a popular video game.

"Gran Turismo" is not the first time Hollywood attempted to adapt a popular racing game series into a big-budget major motion picture. DreamWorks attempted to translate Electronic Arts' "Need for Speed" racing game franchise into a big-budget movie in 2014, which was toplined by "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul. It achieved middling results, grossing only $43 million at the domestic box office and $203 million worldwide. It was also critically panned at the time, with only a 22% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The history of video games being translated into successful films is a relatively short list. However, 2022 has seen some success stories. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" grossed $190 million domestically and $401 million worldwide. Sony also had success with the live-action film adaptation of PlayStation's "Uncharted" franchise. The film starred Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. The "Uncharted" movie ended up making $148.6 million at the US box office and $401 million globally, so translating a successful game series into a big-budget movie that audiences would like to see is not an impossible feat.

Filmmaker Blomkamp is no stranger to video games. He nearly directed a live-action "Halo" movie that never got off the ground. However, the sci-fi first-person shooter game series eventually became a streaming, live-action television series for Paramount+, produced by Showtime Networks and Amblin TV.

Bloom recently wrapped shooting on the upcoming A24 comedy "Wizards," where he stars opposite Pete Davidson and Naomi Scott. His indie thriller project, "Red Right Hand," is currently in post-production. The film also stars Andie MacDowell and Garret Dillahunt.

Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan are producing "Gran Turismo" for PlayStation Productions. Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti are also attached as producers.

Sony's "Gran Turismo" is currently due to arrive in theaters on August 11, 2023. THR reports that the film starts shooting next week in Europe.