Taika Waititi in talks to direct live-action Akira movie

Taika Waititi in talks to direct live-action Akira movie

0 comments 📅20 September 2017, 14:27

A live-action movie of Akira has been in development longer than you may know (Warner Bros. acquired the rights back in 2002). Now Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros. are in negotiations with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi about helming Katsuhiro Otomo’s magnum opus.

The live action adaptation would take place in the rebuilt New Manhattan, where young biker Kaneda sets out to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government organisation performing medical experiments.

According to Deadline, the intention is to adapt Otomo’s six-volume manga as two films; each film comprising of three volumes. Otomo adapted his manga for the screen with his anime film back in 1988.

Warner Bros. attempts to bring a live-action Akira to the big screen have resulted in numerous directors attached to the project, such as Stephen Norrington (Blade), Ruairi Robinson (The Last Days on Mars) and Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli). In 2012, the film was close to production with director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown). He was set to start rolling only for the project to be shut down, with Warner Bros. citing script and budget issues. Since then, directors George Miller and Jordan Peele have been offered the opportunity to direct only to turn it down.

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