Just when you thought it was the final lap… they add a couple more. In a surprising move, Sony took this Friday to announce a major overhaul of all release dates from the movies which were slated to premiere this year and in 2024. The first one to take the hit was the highly anticipated video game adaptation Gran Turismo, which originally was scheduled to premiere just a couple of weeks from now.

From all the titles that got the release date changed, Gran Turismo is among the slate that got the softer shift: The sports movie will now premiere at the end of the month, on August 25. Fans who can hardly wait for it will still be able to catch nationwide sneaks on August 11 and August 18, so we don’t need to hit the brakes too hard. Of course, it’s not the best news ever, but at least the movie didn’t get postponed till next year, which is the case with many other Sony titles including Kraven the Hunter.

Why Did Sony Change The Gran Turismo Release Date?

The shift on the release schedule has, of course, a direct correlation with the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strike. Since every major production was stopped as soon as SAG-AFTRA members joined the WGA strike, studios are certainly anticipating the long-term impacts of the stoppage. The delays will then have the dual purpose of filling in the gaps for Sony movies that have already been impacted by the strike and some bigger productions like Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will have more time to work on post-production.

The soft change in Gran Turismo’s premiere could also be related to the fact that most of the movie’s promotional material has already been used and the blockbuster still has the potential of making the big bucks in late Summer. The biggest competition that Gran Turismo will face on the August 25 weekend is another adaptation: White Bird. So, the chances of the PlayStation title becoming a standout is pretty big.

Gran Turismo is an adaptation that generated curiosity because it approaches the video game title in a whole different way: In the movie, the racing game is an actual game and the best Gran Turismo players get recruited to take the wheel of real-life racing cars and apply the knowledge they got from the games to championship races.

Gran Turismo premieres in theaters on August 25.

via Collider