Bummer: Taika Waititi’s Akira has been canceled

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Dammit. It looks like yet another planned adaptation of AKIRA is getting sidelined. This time it's THOR: RAGNAROK director Taika Waititi's version from producer Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, as sad as it is to report, Variety claims Warner Bros. has put AKIRA on hold indefinitely.

Supposedly, the project – which was set to begin later this fall – was recently delayed so Waititi could find the right actors for the lead roles, but since that delay, the project has died due to the director choosing to move onto Marvel's THOR 4. That said, we hear Warner Bros. hopes Waititi returns to AKIRA after the fourth THOR movie. Finger crossed. I guess.

The original anime AKIRA was released on December 25, 1989, here in the U.S. and followed this synopsis:

In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after the nuking of the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo's supernatural powers suddenly manifest. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment's secrets.

AKIRA was scheduled to open on May 21, 2021. Bummer.