Speed Racer is a 2008 sports action comedy film written and directed by the Wachowskis, based on the manga series of the same name created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The film, an international co-production between the United States and Germany, stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, and Richard Roundtree. The plot revolves around Speed Racer, an 18-year-old automobile racer who follows his apparently deceased brother's career, choosing to remain loyal to his family and their company Racer Motors, which causes difficulties after he refuses a contract that E.P. Arnold Royalton, owner of Royalton Industries, offers him.
Theatrical release poster
Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere
The Mach Five (shown on display at the 2007 Comic-Con International), although a fully-functioning automobile, was hung from a crane for the film's sequences and had its motoring effects computer-generated.
Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women.
The Wachowskis at the 2004 San Diego ComicCon
Lilly (left) and Lana Wachowski at Fantastic Fest in 2012