Back in April, we passed along the badass news that producer Leonardo DiCaprio's long-awaited live-action version of Katsuhiro Otomo's adaptation of his own 6-volume classic graphic novel AKIRA is coming soon with director Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK) set to begin shooting on July 15th. And today Warner Bros. announced that Waititi's AKIRA is set to open on May 21, 2021.
This release date really only has one major drawback surround it. Unfortunately, if AKIRA stays the course for this May 2021 release date, it will be going up against Lionsgate's JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4.
Nice! I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what DiCaprio and Waititi have up their sleeves for this remake. Let's just hope whatever it is it all ends up working out better than that remake of GHOST IN THE SHELL starring Scarlett Johansson from a few years back, right? That poor movie. It never had a chance. I think AKIRA could work though. But maybe that's just me…
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.
Once again, producer Leonardo DiCaprio and director Taika Waititi's live-action version of Katsuhiro Otomo's 6-volume classic graphic novel AKIRA will shoot entirely in California over 71 days beginning on July 15th. The film will open on May 21, 2021. We'll keep you up to date as we hear more.