Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer, to AppleTV+ it seems.
Variety reported on Wednesday that a “Speed Racer” live-action series is being developed for AppleTV+.
J.J. Abrams is also said to be attached as an executive producer, via his Bad Robot production company. Though Abrams is more widely known for his film work, he's also created a number of popular television series including “Lost,” “Felicity” and “Alias.”
Work on the Speed Racer series has reportedly been going on for a while, with the team behind the project said to also include Ron Fitzgerald and Hiram Martinez as writers and executive producers.
No actors were mentioned in Variety's report. A release date also wasn't mentioned.
Speed Racer originated in the 1960s as a manga series by Tatsuo Yoshida under the title “Mach GoGoGo.” It spawned an anime series that debuted in the U.S. in 1967 under the Speed Racer title, after which remakes and even a 2008 live-action film followed. The film was written and directed by The Wachowskis and starred Emile Hirsch in the title role.
The story of Speed Racer centers on racing driver Speed Racer and his race car known as the Mach 5. Other characters include Speed Racer's father and car builder Pops Racer, as well as girlfriend Trixie and little brother Spritle. Speed Racer also has a pet chimpanzee known as Chim-Chim.
