Movies
Warner Bros. Greenlights ‘Akira’, Makes “Smarter” Casting Decision
Warner Bros. has finally greenlit its live-action remake of the anime cult hit Akira for a late February/early March start, sources tell Variety.
In July, Warners tapped Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax, Orphan, Unknown) to direct at a budget of $90 million, which was brought down from an initial figure of well more than $100 million.
Listening to fan outcry when the the studio had talked about casting the likes of Keanu Reeves, they’ve now turned their attention towards Tron: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund (pictured inside), who’s considered a front-runner. Though no offer’s been made, insiders say it’s only a matter of time.
And with that, we can all celebrate! “Set in New Manhattan, the cyberpunk sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experiments.”
WB acquired the potential tentpole project for a seven-figure sum from Japanese manga publisher Kodansha in 2008. Katsuhiro Otomo, who wrote and directed the 1988 Japanese anime pic of the same name, will exec produce Akira.
Akira, long in development at the studio, has hit several speedbumps over the last several months, including Albert Hughes falling off as director. Collet-Serra was brought on quickly, but working out the budget took about two months, with studio execs and creative execs meeting last week before the decision was rendered over the weekend.
After pulling in $28 million at the worldwide box office this month, director (and star) Dev Patel’s critically acclaimed action-thriller Monkey Man is now available to watch at home.
You can rent Monkey Man for $19.99 or digitally purchase the film for $24.99!
Monkey Man is currently 88% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with Bloody Disgusting’s head critic Meagan Navarro awarding the film 4.5/5 stars in her review out of SXSW back in March.
Meagan raves, “While the violence onscreen is palpable and painful, it’s not just the exquisite fight choreography and thrilling action set pieces that set Monkey Man apart but also its political consciousness, unique narrative structure, and myth-making scale.”
“While Monkey Man pays tribute to all of the action genre’s greats, from the Indonesian action classics to Korean revenge cinema and even a John Wick joke or two, Dev Patel’s cultural spin and unique narrative structure leave behind all influences in the dust for new terrain,” Meagan’s review continues.
She adds, “Monkey Man presents Dev Patel as a new action hero, a tenacious underdog with a penetrating stare who bites, bludgeons, and stabs his way through bodies to gloriously bloody excess. More excitingly, the film introduces Patel as a strong visionary right out of the gate.”
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Monkey Man is produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.
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