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Video game movies and TV series are all the rage right now. Some are better than others. My sons saw The Minecraft Movie and gave it a solid, meh. But the movie is a financial juggernaut making over $900 million in its first month alone!
In the last few years video game adaptations like The Last of Us, Fallout, Borderlands, Uncharted and the wildly successful Sonic the Hedgehog movies have dominated TV and theaters. Adapting video games isn’t a new idea. Hollywood started back in the 90s and never looked back.
Currently there are over a dozen video game adaptations in the works, with Ghost of Tsushima, The Legend of Zelda and Golden Axe high on my list.
Now we have confirmation of another video game getting the big screen adaptation, OutRun.
Released by Sega in 1986, OutRun was a groundbreaking racing video game that perfectly encapsulated the 80s. Players take the wheel of a Ferrari Testarossa (it doesn’t get more 80s than that!), racing against the clock not on a traditional track, but along bustling highways in a cross-country adventure.
One of the best features of OutRun is the ability to choose your own music, form a limited selection. There are three radio stations in the car. One plays Magical Sound Shower, which is the most Iconic song and probably the one picked the most. The other two are Passing Breeze and Splash Wave. I always tuned the radio to 80.3 to listen to the cool sounds of Splash Wave.
OutRun pioneered a new genre of driving games and created an entire music subgenre. All the songs have a synth-wave vibe to them and help give rise to the synth-wave genre.
Michael Bay, a powerhouse in the movie industry is confirmed to direct the upcoming OutRun live action movie. Bay has directed so many great movies during his career including Bad Boys, Armageddon, The Rock, Transformers, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and many more.
Announced along with Michael Bay is Sydney Sweeney who is set to produce the movie. Sweeney is a hot commodity in Hollywood right now, starring in Euphoria, The Handmaiden’s Tale and Anyone But You. Sweeney has over 50 acting credits and I haven’t seen a thing she’s in. Well, actually I saw Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood but I don’t recall seeing her in it.
Toru Nakahara (Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3, Knuckles) will produce for Sega. Sega Corporation president/COO Shuji Utsumi will oversee the project on behalf of Sega.
Also attached is writer Jayson Rothwell who previously wrote Silent Night (2012) and Polar (2019). Polar is a highly underrated movie about a retired assassin and one I recommend to everyone.
OutRun is in the early stages of pre-production and there are no details on the plot or casting. Sweeney is only attached to produce, however, I can see her playing the hot blonde who rides along in the Ferrari.
With Michael Bay on board as director it’s guaranteed this movie with be full of non-stop action, explosions and crazy stunts. I can’t wait!
What are your thought on an OutRun movie? Let us know in the comments below.
You can share your thoughts on X too. The main Retro Network channel is @TRNSocial and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai
i love OutRun, so I’m interested. Heck, maybe we’ll finally get a new game off of this!
My only worry is that they’ll ignore what few key things there are to the game. It’s like, there’s only a few core things there, you can go hog wild with the rest. Just don’t make the Ferrari a Cadillac or something, try to evoke some semblance of the locales, and keep some of the soundtrack in there. Maybe get some hot bands to cover some of the tracks, if you must.
But beyond that, go nuts.
Yes, I hope they get a Ferrari Testarossa for the movie and modify it as a convertible. Otherwise what’s the point.