Neill Blomkamp in talks to direct a ‘Gran Turismo’ movie

Neill Blomkamp at the launch of the 'District 9'. Picture: Antoine de Ras

Neill Blomkamp at the launch of the 'District 9'. Picture: Antoine de Ras

Published May 30, 2022

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Neill Blomkamp is being eyed to direct a “Gran Turismo” movie.

The 42-year-old director is in talks with Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions about bringing the iconic driving game to the big screen.

The film is in the very early stages of development and plot details are being kept under wraps at the moment.

Rumours had surfaced that a TV adaptation of the game was in development, but the reports are said to be wide of the mark.

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The “Gran Turismo” series has a rich history, and was created by Polyphony and Kazunori Yamauchi, in 1997. It has been hailed as one of the most authentic driving simulators for its focus on precise graphics, driving physics, and attention to detail with its cars.

The series has sold over 85 million copies, with the most recent edition, “Gran Turismo 7”, being released earlier this year.

Sony and PlayStation are encouraged by the box office performance of the movie “Uncharted”, which stars Tom Holland and is based on the video game series of the same name.

A movie based on the action-adventure game “Ghost of Tsushima” is also in the works.

Neill had been due to make a movie in the “Alien” franchise, with star Sigourney Weaver, but the plans failed to materialise after original director, Sir Ridley Scott, returned with his prequels “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant”, and he now thinks the project is “dead”.

Asked if the potential movie could be revived, the “District 9” director said: “No, would be my guess. I would say nothing will come out. But, who knows? At this present moment, I would say it's just dead.”