Darren Barnet, the breakthrough star of Never Have I Ever, has signed on to feature in Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo adaptation, set for release in 2019. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed his involvement in the David Harbour-led thriller from Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions, which also stars Orlando Bloom and Archie Madekwe. Hungary is going into production this week. Since its inception with the PlayStation in 1997, the Gran Turismo series has been consistently producing new instalments, each one more polished and more features-packed than the last. The film is based on a real tale about a young player who wins a string of tournaments sponsored by Nissan thanks to his exceptional abilities.
Success at GT Academy led him to pursue his passion and become a professional racer, fulfilling the hopes and dreams of millions of Gran Turismo players across the world. At the GT Academy tournament, Madekwe will face off against Barnet. His character is the academy’s best racer, and he’s not happy with the newcomer’s meteoric ascension to the top. Blomkamp, who is a huge Gran Turismo fan, will helm the film from a story written by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin. PlayStation Productions’ other producers, Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti are working with Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan.
The series creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, will be working alongside Hall as an executive producer. In the blockbuster Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever, co-created by Mindy Kaling, Barnet played Paxton Hall-Yoshida, the confusing love interest of series star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Devi. Due to his complicated love triangle with Devi and Ben, he has been a series mainstay from the beginning (Jarren Lewison). He will return for the show’s forthcoming fourth and final season, although when exactly that will be made available on streaming services is unknown. Before that pivotal part, his acting experience was confined to little parts on television and in short films.
His first regular TV job was on Turnt in 2018, while his first film role was in Craig Goldstein’s Instakiller the same year. Although he has guest-starred on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., fans of Netflix are more likely to recognise him from his roles in Love Hard and Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. He will next be seen alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor in the remake of Road House. To now, the projected release date for Gran Turismo is August 11, 2023.