Gran Turismo Movie Trailer Borrows Heavily From its Video Game Roots to Offer a Compelling Plot

Gran Turismo – the movie – just got its first official trailer, showcasing the plot of the upcoming film in detail, and also introducing the key characters in the film played by actors Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, and Orlando Bloom. The upcoming film is the latest in a long list of movies adapted from popular video games, despite the premise of purist racing and simplified plot line of the campaign mode in the video game series. The film is set to release in theatres on August 11.

Jack Salter (David Harbour) kicks off the trailer with a rather straightforward and to-the-point statement that hammers down on the difference between video games and real life. “If you miss a line in the game, you reset. If you miss it on the track, you could die,” says Salter, a racing trainer appointed to prepare a group of young gamers to tackle the very different dynamics of actual car racing. The trailer then jumps to Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who is shown playing the actual Gran Turismo 7 game on an impressive home gaming setup, and appears to be quite good at it.

As mentioned, the Gran Turismo movie is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a young gamer who transitioned from gaming to professional racing after participating in and winning GT Academy, a televised competition that took talented gamers and trained them in professional racing, also providing actual racing opportunities. The trailer shows Jann arguing with his father (Djimon Hounsou) about the future prospects and costs of a professional career in gaming and racing.

Also featured in the trailer is Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), a motorsports marketing executive based on Darren Cox, the real-life creator and director of GT Academy. Moore expects Salter to train the young gamers and turn them into proper race car drivers, despite the latter’s obvious skepticism. Of course, as is the case with the real Jann Mardenborough, the character goes on to show potential and adapt to the challenges of competitive racing.

It’s an interesting way to adapt a video game into a movie, with the Gran Turismo video games themselves featuring in their actual form in the film. The Nissan GTR and various other motorsport-grade vehicles have been featured in the trailer, similar to how the video games have a huge, officially licensed lineup of real-world cars and race tracks. The game’s focus on realism and true simulation is itself highlighted, showing how a gamer experienced in Gran Turismo games can potentially adapt to actual car racing. Gran Turismo releases August 11 in theatres.