In case you were wondering, Warner Bros. still has plans to make a live-action Akira adaptation. Despite countless attempts over the years, the studio has not given up hope and has now hired new Daredevil co-showrunner Marco J. Ramirez to write the film according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the classic manga epic in 2008 and according to Slash Film, they’ve had almost every name in Hollywood attached to star:
Ramirez comes from television. He was a writer on Sons of Anarchy, Orange Is the New Black, Da Vinci’s Demons, and is the new showrunner/writer of Marvel’s Daredevil Netflix original television series, replacing Steven S. DeKnight. Thats all the new details THR has at this time.
Warner Bros. has been trying to bring Akira to the big screen since 2008 when Andrew Lazar (American Sniper) and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way acquired the rights to the adaptation. Many directors and writers have been attached to the project over the years, and a slew of popular young actors were considered for the project, including Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield or James McAvoy for Tetsuo and Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake or Joaquin Phoenix for Kaneda.
However, once they realized the film was going to be a huge project they courted bigger name stars like Brad Pitt, James Franco, and Keanu Reeves. (Way back in the day, Leonardo DiCaprio himself was interested in starring in the property.)
Garett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart were also up for major roles at one point, with names like Michael Pitt and Tony Kebbell rolling around for Tetsuo. If that all sounds like a horrible, no good, bad idea, you’ve probably got a good head on your shoulders. Or you don’t work for Warner Bros.
It’d be really pleasant if this just died off and didn’t happen, but that’s not going to be the case. The best idea is to just ignore it or hope for better things to come, like a Rick And Morty mash up in the vein of Bartkira. Make it happen, world.
(Via Slash Film / The Hollywood Reporter)
