So I take it this is gonna be like Pixar's Cars, but with realistic art style.

Sounds like a winner, worked great with Need For Speed.

But why? This is absurd at best and disastrous at worst. Even games with actual substance have translated poorly to film and TV in the past, how on earth will this work on any level?

Well double bet on GT then =p

Guess they will tell the story of a young racer going from the karts to the formula. Or a Le Mans struggle.

Drive to Survive is hugely popular and I think it follow its formula: Driving + the human drama and competition behind it. Should actually be way easier to adapt than other IPs with outlandish fantasy worlds and characters. I'm more worried about Horizon and GOW tbh

Horizon will likely be shit, I have a nasty feeling about which direction they're going to take that. GoW could be a decent action romp, if they decide so, but my expectations are very low.

The recent Sonic, Arcane and Castlevania beg to differ…

Arcane was amazing for sure, haven't seen Sonic or Castlevania. But I have seen a slew of other crap made from game licenses. I still think that good productions are the exception and not the rule. I even think that this is a well-known trope and gag in the gaming scene.

I think the main issue with a GT movie for me is that the game itself has no lore, real setting or story to follow, which means anything and everything will be completely freestyle from the producers. Which also means that the GT license itself seems meaningless, I just don't get it. While League of Legends is thin in the story department, there was still a bunch of lore to go by via graphic novels etc, I suppose even Sonic has some actual story. Castlevania is decently lore-rich throughout its almost 40 year history, and at least has some building blocks for a show and/or movie. Gran Turimso simply doesn't, I just find it a weird chose for a licensed film, is all.

I’m not expecting anything. But…I’m simply not a negative first kind of guy when it comes to these things. And lately, there has been good adaptations, so I think there’s always a chance such projects can turn out good.