The First Teaser Drops For Sung Kang’s “DRIFTER” Movie
After a year of subtle teases, the first teaser for the indie film Drifter by Fast and Furious actor Sung Kang has dropped. The teaser is only about 30 seconds long, so it doesn’t reveal much; however, Kang sat down with IGN to discuss the film’s plot, his character, and what motivated him to make it in the first place.
What is Drifter About?
So, what’s the film about? According to the official synopsis, Drifter follows “a solitary racetrack janitor with a gift for drifting [who] is haunted by his tragic past. Given a single chance to compete at a pro drifting event, he discovers his raw talent is useless without the one thing he’s always avoided: connection with others. Under a hardened mentor, he must learn to trust his found family and transform his untamed, lonely art into a dangerous dance of partnership, or be consumed and controlled by the past he’s desperate to escape.”
Sounds like the logline for this film would be something like “Bloodsport meets Tokyo Drift meets Karate Kid.” Alright, maybe not exactly like that, but you get the point. It looks to be a variation of plot points we’ve seen before, but against a gritty, grounded backdrop of grassroots drifting.
Paul Walker’s Death Inspired Sung Kang to Make Drifter
In his interview with IGN, Kang revealed that his real-life experiences as part of the Fast and Furious family and the tragedy of Paul Walker’s death in 2013 spurred him to create Drifter.
“After 20 years in [the Fast & Furious] franchise, you realize the impact that that movie had throughout the world, but then you ask ‘Why?’ It’s the theme of family,” said Kang. “[When] Paul passed away, I realized how connected people were with us. I think [in] very few movies does the audience actually emotionally go through something with you. We all shared a loss of someone. And maybe a lot of people didn’t know who Paul was personally, but he knew the character. And to be able to share that loss together, it solidified this deeper relationship I have with our audience. I used to just call them fans [but], they’re not our fans. They are our friends. They are our family. They’ve gone through something traumatic together. And today I’ve embraced it.”
This sounds like a significant clue to the “tragic past” mentioned in the synopsis. Perhaps the main character feels responsible for the death of someone close to him?
Sung Kang Has Made Public Apperances in Character
Sung Kang has been low-key promoting his film in plain sight for nearly a year, and many people may not have even noticed. Anyone who follows Kang on Instagram has likely seen the actor making appearances around the world. Kang made most of those appearances wearing the same or similar janitor overalls his character wears in the film.
He’s also been touring the hero car “Lola,” a LS engine-swapped Toyota AE86 Corolla, across the country at car meets and major autoshows. According to Kang, that car was actually provided to him for the film free of charge by 2011 Formula Drift Champion Dai Yoshihara, who is also a stunt driver in the film.
As far as other pro driver cameos, the only one we spotted in the trailer was Adam LZ. Though there may be a few easter eggs. For example, it looks like the “hardened mentor” might be based on legendary Formula Drift corner worker Bil “Wild Bill” Baldwin, who was known for standing still, completely unfazed, as drift cars would slide by at speed. Though that is speculation on our part.
It also appears that at least a few of the driving scenes were filmed at Willow Springs Raceway, which was a mecca for grassroots drifting events for over a decade and often where many Formula Drift pros go to test their vehicles before each season. The facility has since been purchased by Singer Vehicle Design, so our guess is that the scenes for Drifter were shot previous to the sale.
When is Drifter Coming Out?
As of now, it looks like there is no release date for Drifter. The teaser only says that the film is “coming soon.” For what it’s worth, it seems that Kang is ramping up the promotion of his film with more appearances at major events. You should expect to see the actor and the Corolla hero car from the film at Formula Drift Long Beach this April. If we can dig up any further details about the film by then, we’ll let you know ASAP. For now, tell us what you think about the first teaser for Drifter. Did it hook you? Are you not interested? Or are you waiting for a proper trailer before forming an opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments or tag us on Threads.