Neill Blomkamp‘s Gran Turismo adaptation is revving for its release next year and now Never Have I Ever breakout star Darren Barnet is joining the race. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that he has boarded the David Harbour-led film from Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions which also features Orlando Bloom and Archie Madekwe. Production is set to begin in Hungary this week.
Gran Turismo is based on the bestselling series of racing games which has been pumping out new titles since it debuted on the original PlayStation back in 1997. The film also pulls from a true story, following a teenage player whose skills at the game earned him a series of wins at Nissan-sponsored competitions. He would eventually translate those skills behind the wheel, becoming an actual professional racer after his success at GT Academy and living out the dream of Gran Turismo fans everywhere. Barnet will appear opposite Madekwe as his rival at the GT Academy competition. His character is the top-rated racer at the academy who is frustrated by the sudden rise of the young driver.
Jason Hall and Zach Baylin wrote the script for the film which Blomkamp, a big Gran Turismo fan in his own right, will direct from. Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan are producing for PlayStation Productions alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi is also on board as an executive producer alongside Hall.
Barnet’s star has been on the rise ever since his turn as Paxton Hall-Yoshida, the complicated love interest to series star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan‘s Devi, in the hit Mindy Kaling-co-created comedy series Never Have I Ever on Netflix. He has been one of the driving forces of the series ever since its inception thanks to a messy love triangle with Devi and Ben (Jarren Lewison). He’ll still be around for the show’s upcoming fourth and final season, though there’s no word on when that will release on the streamer.
Before that crucial role, he was limited to smaller appearances on television and in short films. His first recurring role in a series didn’t come until 2018 with Turnt with his first feature film appearance coming later that year with Craig Goldstein‘s Instakiller. He also appeared briefly in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., though he’s been a favorite at Netflix, starring in the rom-com Love Hard and the animated series Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. In terms of upcoming projects, he’s slated to appear in the Road House remake with Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor.
Gran Turismo is currently slated for August 11, 2023. Check out an interview Collider conducted with Barnet on his role in Love Hard below.