It is known that Sony wants to make more movies and TV shows based on its video game properties. It's enjoyed moderate success with the feature film adaptation of Uncharted, starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, and massive success with the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. There are more films and shows in the works too, while this summer we'll see the debut of the Gran Turismo movie. Actor Orlando Bloom was recently at Cannes film festival to promote Gran Turismo, the movie that is not quite based on the racing game series. Directed by Neill Blomkamp (of District 9 fame), the Gran Turismo film doesn't tell the story of the game (which doesn't really have one anyway) but rather is set in a world where many are obsessed with the racing sim. Gran Turismo is due to arrive in cinemas on August 11, so it's pretty much finished, and it seems that Blomkamp has set his sights on another PlayStation racer possibly to be adapted. On Twitter, Blomkamp recently tweeted to his 105,000 or so followers the following: 'where would I discover the best WIPEOUT lore?' To which someone very relevant replied. That would be Damon Fairclough, a writer at Psygnosis who wrote much of the backstory and lore for multiple Wipeout games, as you can see below:
Although not as prominent as it once was (since there's been no new racer in the series for some time), Wipeout has a place in gaming history. A launch title for the original PlayStation in Europe and North America, the game features anti-gravity racing set in a futuristic environment and famously has a pulsing electronic soundtrack. Using music from techno artists such as Leftfield, The Chemical Brothers, and Orbital, among others, the game became associated with the more mature image that PlayStation marketed itself with, especially in the United Kingdom.
For many millennial PlayStation gamers, the Psygnosis-developed title conjures a specific time and place, but the more sci-fi bent of the game could suit Blomkamp's tastes. With the soundtrack, too, which was mentioned by many in Blomkamp's replies, the movie's soundtrack could already take shape. But this is early days and with the film director taking an interest in the lore of the games, it's clear that production on any such Wipeout movie is still some way away. But who knows, if a movie does get put into production, perhaps a new game in the series could also be put into development?