Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend () is a Canadian biographical drama film, directed by Yan Lanouette Turgeon and released in 2026.Charles-Henri Ramond, "Le biopic sur Villeneuve est daté". Films du Québec, May 16, 2026. A dramatization of the early life of Canadian racing driver Gilles Villeneuve, the film centres on his early efforts to establish his racing career.Charles Rioux, "Les premières images du film sur Gilles Villeneuve sont dévoilées". Radio Canada International, December 15, 2025.
The film stars Rémi Goulet as Villeneuve and Rosalie Bonenfant as his wife Joann Barthe, as well as Patrice Robitaille, Anick Lemay, Paul Doucet, Fabien Cloutier, Hubert Proulx, Étienne Galloy and Frank Crudele as Enzo Ferrari in supporting roles.Florence Dancause, "Le film Villeneuve : l’ascension d’une légende sortira le 11 novembre". La Presse, May 7, 2026.
Production The film's production was first announced in 2023,Charles-Henri Ramond, "Rémi Goulet et Rosalie Bonenfant dans le biopic Villeneuve". Films du Québec, May 11, 2023. with screenwriter Daniel Roby slated to direct it."Rémi Goulet incarnera le coureur automobile Gilles Villeneuve au grand écran". Ici Radio-Canada, May 8, 2023. Due to disagreements with producer Christian Larouche over the film's creative direction, he was dropped from the project in fall 2024, with Turgeon brought in to replace him.Maxime Demers, "Changement de réalisateur pour le film sur la vie de Gilles Villeneuve: Yan Lanouette Turgeon remplace Daniel Roby à la barre du projet". Le Journal de Montréal, September 19, 2024.
Around the same time the film had to pause production for budgetary reasons,Pascale Lévesque, "Drapeau rouge pour le film sur Gilles Villeneuve: la production frappe le mur". Le Soleil, September 21, 2024. before resuming production in summer 2025."Reprise des tournages pour le film sur Gilles Villeneuve". Noovo Moi, July 23, 2025.
Release The film premiered as the closing film of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.John Hazelton, "Chris Rock, Yeon Sang-ho, Peter Farrelly titles among Toronto film festival galas and special presentations". Screen Daily, July 20, 2026. It will go into commercial release in Quebec on November 11.
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