1UPdate: Have video game adaptations finally turned a corner in Hollywood?

With ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and ‘The Last of Us’ breaking records, we discuss the seemingly bright future for video game adaptations.

Still of Mario surrounded by mushrooms from the Super Mario Bros Movie (2023).

Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) in 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023) from Nintendo and Illumination.

On this week’s 1UPdate, we discuss the success of video game adaptations on screens large and small with Esports Illustrated writer Robbie Landis.

This week saw the release of the Gran Turismo movie trailer, which tells the true story of Jaan Mardenborough, played by Archie Madekwe (Midsommar, Voyagers, See), who went from a tournament-winning Gran Turismo gamer to a Super GT and Super Formula driver through a program called GT Academy.

Gran Turismo also stars big names like David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy, Suicide Squad) as Jack Salter, the trainer who eventually sees something in Mardenborough, and Orlando Bloom (Lord of The Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Carnival Row) as Danny Moore, a motorsport executive who is based on the GT Academy founder Darren Cox.

We also discuss The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which passed a number of milestones this week as it became the first video game adaptation to gross over $1 billion at the box office, as well as HBO’s The Last of Us, which has averaged around 30 million viewers per episode.

So what’s the secret? Why are these video game adaptations suddenly catching on after decades of misses? Have video game adaptations finally turned a corner in Hollywood? Listen to this week’s 1UPdate to find out.


Listen: Have video game adaptations finally turned a corner in Hollywood?


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