Here we go again. A live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" has been in and out of various stages of development for quite a number of years, with directors such as George Miller, Jaume Collet-Serra, Jordan Peele, and more passing on the project, and now Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is moving forward with AKIRA yet again and have been negotiating with Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK) to helm the adaptation.
According to Deadline, this version of AKIRA will take place in a rebuilt New Manhattan where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. The plan is to split the story into two films, each covering three books in the manga series. With the less than stellar reception which DEATH NOTE and THE GHOST IN THE SHELL received earlier this year, you'd think that Warner Bros. would finally let this manga adaptation rest, but with so much money already invested during its lengthy development, they may feel that they have no choice but to keep moving ahead. Will Taika Waititi pass on AKIRA like the long line of directors before him, or is the…fourteenth time the charm? Sound off in the comments!
Before Taika Waititi, Warner Bros. was said to be "moving aggressively" to sign Jordan Peele after the immense success of GET OUT, but despite citing the 1988 film as one of his favourites, Peele decided to pass on the project in favour of tackling original movies. "I think [I could do it] if the story justifies it. AKIRA is one of my favorite movies, and I think obviously the story justifies as big a budget as you can possibly dream of," Peele said. "But the real question for me is: Do I want to do pre-existing material, or do I want to do original content? At the end of the day, I want to do original stuff."
THOR: RAGNAROK will hit theaters on November 3, 2017.