Apple TV+ and J.J. Abrams reportedly working on a live action 'Speed Racer' series

Speed Racer
Speed Racer (Image credit: Tatsunoko Productions)

What you need to know

  • Speed Racer has reportedly been given the green light for a new Apple TV+ series.
  • *J.J. Abrams will serve as executive producer of the show.

Apple TV+ is reportedly working on a new live-action Speed Racer series, with J.J. Abrams set to be executive producer of the project.

According to a new Variety report, the project has been "in the works for a considerable amount of time" and has now picked up a series order from Apple TV+. Ron Fitzgerald and Hiram Martinez are set to write and executive produce the new show while the report notes the pair will also serve as showrunners.

"Speed Racer" follows the adventure of auto racer Speed Racer and his souped up car, the Mach 5. His team consists of his father and car builder Pops Racer, his little brother Spritle and his pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim, and Speed's girlfriend Trixie. Speed also frequently crosses paths with the mysterious Racer X, who is secretly Speed's older brother Rex Racer.

The Speed Racer name originally arrived as a manga series back in the 1960 and was originally titled Mach GoGoG. It's easy to see why the change of name was needed. The original was popular, with more than 50 episodes airing. Variety reminds us that "English-language version of a Japanese remake [aired] on Nickelodeon beginning in 2002."

There is currently no information on when we can expect Speed Racer to land on our television screens, but we can be sure that you'll need an Apple TV+ subscription to watch it. Those with Apple Music and Apple Arcade already should also consider checking out the Apple One subscription bundle, too.

If you want to enjoy Speed Racer in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.