Death Race Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

Last modified: Dec. 21, 2008

Death Race

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Jason Statham • Joan Allen • Ian McShane • Tyrese Gibson

88% WILL SEE 12% WON'T SEE

Plot: Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the U.S. penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the ''Death Race'', the world's biggest, most brutal sporting event. Five-time NASCAR champion Jensen Ames is a man who has become an expert at survival. After eight years of hard time, he has only six weeks before reuniting with his family. But when Weyland demands a driver to headline the big game, Ames is forced to submit. Donning the costume of mythical rider Frankenstein, the racer becomes an instant crowd favorite, an unequaled sporting superstar. His face hidden by a metallic black mask, one convict will be put through a brutal three day challenge, with the trophy being the ultimate prize: freedom. The only catch is that he must survive a gauntlet of the most vicious criminals in this post-industrial wasteland to claim it. Driving a monster car outfitted with machine guns, flamethrowers and grenade launchers, Ames must now kill or be killed to win the most treacherous spectator sport on Earth: ''Death Race''.

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Jason Statham
Shelter, A Working Man
J
Joan Allen
The Bourne Legacy, The Notebook
Ian McShane
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Tyrese Gibson
Oscar Shaw, Fast X

A look at Death Race behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Paul W.S. Anderson last helmed In the Lost Lands and Monster Hunter. The film's writer Paul W.S. Anderson last penned In the Lost Lands and Monster Hunter.

Death Race originally was set up at Paramount as a vehicle for Tom Cruise. The project was among those pushed aside after Cruise's deal at the studio was terminated last year. Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, will produce.

Dec 2004

Changed Death Race movie production status. The movie is ready for release.

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No trailers are currently available.

Death Race was released in on Friday, August 22 , 2008. There were six other movies released on the same date, including The House Bunny, The 5th Commandment and Hamlet 2.