Remember when Warner wanted to make 2 back-to-back AKIRA movies with DiCaprio’s Appian Way to adapt the insanely cryptic anime? seems that the studio hasn’t pulled the plug after all, even though Leo is apparently no longer involved.
According to the folks of Collider, Warner is waiting for scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostbyfor to complete a new script soon for the project, which for now no longer seems like a two-parter. Probably for budget reasons; the site claims Warner is prioritizing the project with many zeros on the price tag, but better to fail once than spectacularly twice right? Report also has the location change from “Neo-Tokyo” to Manhattan while the red bike is a given. Production would start next year for a big 2011 tentpole release.
I have to say I’m a bit torn on this one. AKIRA is pretty much a flagship for the entire anime industry and absolutely does NOT need either live-action treatment nor Americanization. BUT those guys wrote the haunting and fantastic CHILDREN OF MEN as well as sharing credits for IRON MAN and the upcoming COWBOYS AND ALIENS. What if Warner also digs up a visionary director like they did for their Batman reboot? Could the film actually be worth making?
Worst case scenario, that video down here says it all…