Speed ​​Racer Live-Action Series Coming to Apple TV+, With JJ Abrams as Executive Producer: Report

Speed ​​Racer – the popular racing series based on the 1960s manga Mach GoGoGo – is reportedly coming to Apple TV+ as a new live-action series. The franchise’s last adaptation was The Wachowskis’ 2008 film Speed ​​Racer, and fans of Speed ​​and its Mach 5 race car can look forward to a new series in the works on the streaming service. the Cupertino company, according to a report. The upcoming live-action series will be produced by JJ Abrams, while cast details or a release date have yet to be revealed.

The upcoming live-action Speed ​​Racer series has been in development for “a considerable amount of time,” according to a report from Variety. The show will be produced by Warner Bros. Television, with JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions. Ron Fitzgerald (Westworld, Weeds) and Hiram Martinez (Snowpiercer, Get Shorty) are writing the series and will join Abrams as executive producers. The series will be the first live-action adaptation of Speed ​​Racer in 14 years.

The first Speed ​​Racer anime series was released in 1967, based on the Mach GoGoGo manga released a year earlier. The series followed the story of Speed ​​and his powerful Mach 5 race car, his father Pops, his brother Spritle, his chimpanzee Chim-Chim and his girlfriend Trixie. In the animated series, Speed ​​crosses paths with the very talented Racer X – who drives car number 9 “Shooting Star” – unaware that it is his older brother Rex who is behind the wheel.

The 2008 live-action film Speed ​​Racer starred Emile Hirsch (Into The Wild, Girl Next Door) and was written and directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski. That year, a 13-episode reboot of the anime series titled The New Adventures of Speed ​​Racer was released in the United States.

The upcoming Speed ​​Racer series will be based on the original Japanese manga story and has no connection to the 2008 film, according to a report by Deadline. While the next series has reportedly been in the works for some time, there’s no word on the show’s cast. Likewise, Apple TV+ and the producers have yet to reveal when the series will release on the streaming service.