WATCH: Live-action Gran Turismo movie made us miss GT Academy

Before the GR GT Cup and McLaren and Logitech's World's Fastest Gamer, there was a virtual to real-life competition called the GT Academy – and Gran Turismo is bringing it back, albeit on the silver screen.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has released an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming live-action Gran Turismo movie, and we know what the plot is all about.

It is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough – a Gran Turismo player who became a professional racecar driver through the GT Academy.

For the uninformed, GT Academy provided Gran Turismo gamers the chance to go from virtual to reality, from a PlayStation at home to a real-life professional racing career with Nissan. The program began in 2008, and its last two editions in 2015 and 2016 saw the Philippines take part in the competition.

Mardenborough is one of the most successful graduates of the GT Academy and went on to race in Super GT, GP3, and the World Endurance Championship. He will be played by English actor Archie Madekwe and will be joined by notable actors Orlando Bloom and David Harbour, who will each play a supporting role in the cast.

Based on the movie trailer itself, the real-life Gran Turismo movie promises to provide plenty of live-racing action. We just hope the storytelling is just as good as the footage when the movie hits theaters this summer.

But more importantly, Gran Turismo chose to highlight GT Academy in the live-action movie. So is this a sign of things to come? We do hope so.