Key and Peele’s Jordan Peele Being Considered To Direct Akira

Hollywood is doing this weird trend where they hire directors who succeed with small movies, and they hand them big-budget blockbuster projects. The same thing happened with Marc Webb for The Amazing Spider-Man, Gareth Edwards with Godzilla, and Josh Trank with the Fantastic Four reboot. The next guy in line is Key and Peele's Jordan Peele, and reports are saying that he's being courted to direct the live-action adaptation of Akira.

The Tracking Board reports that Peele is on the top of the list for potential directors for Akira, and the discussions between him and the studio have been called "encouraging." Peele has just come off the success of his first movie, a psychological horror film called Get Out, and now he's in talks to direct an adaptation of a classic cyberpunk anime.

Akira has been in development hell for several years, and several people attached to the project have been coming and going over time. With the release of Ghost in the Shell and the Death Note movie upcoming, studios may have guessed that there's a renewed interest in anime adaptations, and Akira is a prime candidate.

My concern, however, is about Peele getting the job. Sure he's a fine comedian, and he's been in showbiz a long time, but just because he directed one successful indie film does not make him a prime candidate to direct a huge movie like Akira. Josh Trank made this transition after the success of Chronicle, and look how that turned out for him — Fantastic Four was a huge bomb, and he got fired (presumably) from directing the Boba Fett standalone movie. It's best the studio hires someone with proper experience. What, are the indie movie directors cheaper to hire? Is that it?

Now, I don't have anything against Peele at all. I think he's great. I just don't want the guy breaking down like Josh Trank. Give Jordan Peele some time to grow.

Akira has no official release date.

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