The 2008 live-action Speed Racer movie from the Wachowskis tends to be a divisive one. It certainly has its fans and defenders, but it also seen as a garish experiment that didn't quite work. And Warner Bros. hasn't raced to make more movies or shows based on it. Yet the original manga and its various anime adaptations are still hugely popular, so Warners has turned to prolific producer JJ Abrams for a new, live-action show, which is in development for Apple TV+.
This latest series will drive back to the source material, turning the manga series into a show, though details beyond that are scarce. You've got to figure it'll be some spin on young, ambitious driver Speed Racer, who, with the help of his family, zooms around in his high-tech Mac-5 car.
Snowpiercer's Hiram Martinez and Westworld veteran Ron Fitzgerald are running the show, and are busy hiring writers to flesh it out. Can it compete with the sheer psychedelic CG madness of the Wachowskis? More importantly, should it?
We'll see if and when the series makes it to the production starting grid.