(Left) Sydney Sweeney at the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Lionsgate. (Right) Michael Bay attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Columbia Pictures’ ‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’ at the TCL Chinese Theater on May 30, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Sony Pictures.
Preview:
- Sydney Sweeney and Michael Bay are teaming up for an ‘OutRun’ adaptation.
- It’ll be drawn from the popular 1980s arcade/video game franchise.
- Jayson Rothwell will write the script.
Here’s what we’d describe as both a surprising and yet understandable combo of talent and subject.
While we’re not certain we had Sydney Sweeney and Michael Bay teaming up on our 2025 bingo card, the idea that they’d be coming together to work on a video game adaptation might top that for its unlikely quality.
Still, given that Sweeney has been increasingly getting into the producing side of movie-making and Bay has a little bit of experience with action, maybe we should all have seen their collaboration on an adaptation of classic 1980s Sega title ‘OutRun’ heading our way –– at least, potentially.
According to Deadline, Bay will direct the new movie for Universal, with Sweeney –– at least so far –– only aboard to produce rather than making a deal to star. Of course, if the script takes a shape she’s interested in, expect her to take a role, even if it’s supporting part, to get this one made.
Toru Nakahara (who worked on the likes of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog) will also produce for Sega, while the company’s president and COO Shuji Utsumi will oversee development.
Related Article: Sydney Sweeney in Negotiations to Star in Legendary’s ‘Gundam’ Movie
What’s the story of ‘OutRun’?
‘OutRun’ video game. Photo: Youtube.
With video games enjoying a huge moment on screens big and small (‘Minecraft’ continues to build at the box office, while ‘The Last of Us’ returned to HBO and Max with a bang a couple of weeks ago, and just released its most impactful episode so far), it’s hardly surprising that other companies would be rooting through titles to find possibilities.
Universal itself has already seen success in the sphere with ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and ‘Five Nights at Freddie’s both launching film franchises.
The initial struggle with ‘OutRun’ is that it features no traditional narrative: this is a pseudo-3D driving video game in which the player controls a Ferrari Testarossa convertible from a third-person rear perspective. The object of the game is to reach the finish line against a timer.
Still ‘OutRun,’ which Sega debuted in arcade cabinet form back in 1986 and saw become its most successful arcade title of the decade, has enjoyed a long-running embrace by game fans since being ported to variety of consoles and systems, spawning a franchise.
Jayson Rothwell, whose credits include Netflix thriller ‘Polar,’ comedy horror mystery ‘Silent Night’ [2012] and 2004 horror thriller ‘Blessed’ is the scriptwriter who will be figuring out how it works as a movie.
There have been different approaches to titles such as this in the past –– the more recent ‘Gran Turismo’ took the novel idea of focusing on a real-life player of the game becoming a driver, while the less successful (in every sense) 2014 effort ‘Need for Speed’ looked to put a crime thriller coat on the racing action.
And let’s not forget that “Bayhem” isn’t a term by accident (except for the many spectacular vehicular collisions he’s brought to screens on purpose); the director knows how to stage a set piece with real momentum.
What else is Sydney Sweeney working on?
(L to R) Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in ‘Anyone But You. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Sweeney’s current schedule is as packed as anyone’s in Hollywood.
Last year included the continued success of hit rom-com ‘Anyone But You’ opposite fellow rising star Glen Powell and Neon horror thriller ‘Immaculate.’
She followed those up with one that she might wish to vanish from her resume, misfiring Spider-Man spin-off ‘Madame Web.’
The actor also filmed the Ron Howard-directed thriller ‘Eden’ about a society of people who opt to start a new life in the Galapagos islands, only for things to wrong. That one should be in theaters this year.
(L to R) Brandon Sklenar, Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney and director Paul Feig at the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas.Photo: Lionsgate.
She has shot the Lionsgate adaptation of the novel ‘The Housemaid,’ which has Paul Feige in the director’s chair, and has worked on two other movies, ‘Echo Valley’ about a woman (played by Julianne Moore) whose life is turned upside down when her daughter (Sweeney) shows up covered in someone else’s blood, and a biopic of real-life boxer Christy Martin, with Sweeney in the lead role (not to mention it’s another movie she produced).
Still to come is a starring role in Colman Domingo’s film ‘Scandalous!,’ which will see her playing Kim Novak in the story of the actor’s controversial relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. (played by ‘Alien: Romulus’ David Jonsson).
And that list doesn’t even include the potential movies to which she is attached: that list includes a remake of sci-fi comedy ‘Barbarella,’ thriller ‘The Caretaker’ and a drama called ‘The Registration.’
More recently, she was linked to the attempt to make a live-action ‘Gundam’ movie.
Finally, we have HBO series ‘Euphoria,’ whose much-delayed third season which is finally filming now for a 2026 release.
What else is Michael Bay working on?
(L to R) Producer Brad Fischer, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Director/Producer Michael Bay, Eiza González and Jake Gyllenhaal attend Universal Pictures ‘Ambulance’ Premiere at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, CA on Monday, April 4, 2022. Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
Bay, who has been working as a filmmaker longer than his new collaborator has been alive, is busy as both a director and a producer.
While his most recent feature directorial gig was 2022 action thriller ‘Ambulance,’ he’s got parkour documentary ‘We Are Storror,’ which follows the daring and successful Parkour team, who have amassed a huge following on YouTube. The doc premiered at SXSW on March 8th.
As a producer, his Platinum Dunes company has backed a number of recent movies, including ‘Drop,’ ‘Transformers One’ and ‘A Quiet Place: Day One.’
And as usual, he has a vast array of projects in development under both sides of his output, including the long-gestating ‘Robopocalypse,’ a crossover between the ‘Transformers’ and ‘G.I. Joe’ properties and a third main ‘A Quiet Place’ outing.
When will ‘OutRun’ be in theaters?
Universal has yet to announce anything close to a release date for this one, so we’ll have to be patient for now. Cool your engines, people!
Sydney Sweeney in ‘Euphoria.’ Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO.
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