New Zealander Director Taika Waititi In Talks Of Helming Live-Action Version of 'Akira'
Talks about the live-action adaptation of "Akira" is once again taking shape after new reports claimed that the project may have finally found its possible director.
Deadline revealed that Warner Bros. Studio is in talks with "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi to spearhead the film outfit's plan to bring the classic Japanese manga written by Katsuhiro Otomo that began in 1982.
The studio first acquired the rights to come up with a live-action remake of "Akira" back in 2002, but the project did not push through immediately after it underwent a lot of changes in its production.
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However, Waititi and the studio have yet to confirm if the talks between their camp to direct the live-action adaptation of the novel became successful.
Waititi, a New Zealand-born director, writer, and comedian just finished working on the next "Thor" installment that is set to be shown worldwide on Nov. 3. He is also working as the executive producer for the upcoming film "The Breaker Upperers" that is slated to be released in 2018, and helm a new movie called "Bubbles" that will premiere in 2019.
The story of Otomo's masterpiece that he wrote with Izo Hashimoto centered on a dystopian Neo-Tokyo society where a biker gang member Tetsuo Shima acquired superpowers after an explosion. This led him to gain confidence to challenge his childhood friend and gang leader Shotaro Kaneda.
The manga also spawned into an adult anime film that was released in 1988. Otomo was also the one who directed the said animated movie, but it reportedly shortened the plot from the manga by removing a lot of elements from the last half of the book series. The film is reportedly hailed as one of the best animated and sci-fi films of all time.
Warner Bros. is expected to make an announcement about "Akira" in the coming days.
