Hollywood keeps circling MotoGP, and the latest attempt reportedly puts Jack Reacher star Alan Ritchson at the center of a heist thriller set inside the paddock.
According to Deadline, Ritchson has teamed with Netflix on a creative partnership through his Dancing Skeleton production company, and the first project out of that deal will be an as-yet-untitled film built around the premier class. The outlet, citing unnamed sources, reports the movie is styled as a heist thriller.
Deadline also names Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan as involved in the project, which lends the effort some genuine action-cinema pedigree. The reported plot centers on a gang of robbers stealing priceless antiques, with a former MotoGP racer, played by Ritchson, drawn in to track them down, per Deadline. It is a premise that leans harder on the thriller half of the equation than on the racing, but that’s Hollywood for you.
What does appear firm, however, is series involvement. The film reportedly has the full backing of MotoGP, with the championship signing a deal with the producers to assist on production, filming, and authenticity. That kind of access means there’s a good chance the movie will see real machinery, real riders, and real circuits on screen rather than green-screen approximations.
The timing is notable because Hollywood’s interest in two-wheeled racing has been ramping up lately, most visibly at this year’s Isle of Man TT, where Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt, and a large film crew and cast of extras turned up on the Island. Pitt, fresh off starring in the Lewis Hamilton-backed F1 film, is helping produce that TT project through his Plan B Entertainment company. Between the TT feature and this Netflix MotoGP thriller, the sport is suddenly a destination for major studio money.
Whether a heist thriller is the right vehicle for MotoGP is another question. Racing movies live or die on their track footage, and a caper plot built around stolen antiques risks sidelining the racing that gives the setting its appeal. The counterweight, however, is Morgan’s involvement; the Fast & Furious franchise proved capable of marrying vehicular spectacle to heist storytelling for years, and MotoGP’s cooperation deal suggests the producers want the on-track material to hold up. Diehard racing fans will likely be left disappointed, while there’s a better chance casual movie fans will watch for a good time. Ultimately, the studio wins at the end (assuming it doesn’t completely bomb).
For now, plenty remains unconfirmed. There is no title, no release window, and no word on which teams, circuits, or riders might appear. Still, the casting of Ritchson as a former racer turned pursuer is the clearest piece of the puzzle — despite the fact his shoulders are so broad his bike won’t need wings and he probably weighs nearly as much as the motorcycle.
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