Sometimes, all it takes is a few years to go by before one thing gets the engines up and running again, and possibly, for the anime movie Akira from the late 80s, its live-action adaptation will reportedly be back under development with Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi.
In 2017, it was reported that Akira will be gracing Hollywood with the director of Thor: Love and Thunder Taika Waititi handling the project. This was supposed to be under Warner Bros. and the studio even set a release date for the live-action adaptation of Akira.
However, the project did not push through when Thor: Love and Thunder entered the picture as Taika Waititi worked on the Marvel Studios project. From then on, Warner Bros. shelved the live-action adaptation of Akira.
A new report surfaces as Akira is reportedly moving forward with its development as per Deadline reporter Justin Kroll who attended the Star Wars Celebration where one of Waititi's projects is reportedly ongoing. Through that, the update on Akira surfaced.
Kroll shared, "Since everyone is wondering where his STAR WARS film is, if I were a betting man my guess is Taika's next movie is his AKIRA movie at WB, which he put on shelf to do L&T. He never left the film and word is script should be into studio soon."
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Kroll added, "Again nothing set in stone as the film would go through regular process before greenlight including figuring out a budget but sounds like all his focus is on that project."
To those who are unaware of what Akira is all about, it is the groundbreaking movie of Otomo in 1988 and that only means Taika Waititi has huge expectations behind him for his live-action adaptation of the beloved classic.
Akira follows the story of Shotaro Kaneda who leads a biker gang in a dystopian world. His whole life is all fun and enjoyment but it all turns around when one of his friends went AWOL following the discovery of telekinetic powers.
Set in 2019 Neo-Tokyo, the world just got out of World War III and a government project surfaces on humans being developed to have telekinetic powers to be used as weapons.
That being said, Akira is one of the pioneers of the cyberpunk genre and to date, it remains one of Otomo's best films in existence.
Would you like to see the live-action adaptation of Akira under Taika Waititi?
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