Akira is one of the greatest animated films of all time and yet, Warner Bros. can’t seem to get a live-action adaptation off the ground.
Variety is reporting that, in the wake of Taika Waititi taking the reigns on Marvel’s Thor 4, the studio has pulled the plug on production indefinitely. The adaptation was set to begin later this fall with plans to release in 2021. Warners hopes when Waititi is done with production on Thor 4 that the film can get back into production.
The site notes that Waititi was in the midst of meeting with young Japanese actors for Akira’s two lead roles. While the studio originally delayed production to give him time to find the right talent, budget concerns sent the film back into development. This is unlikely.
Jaume Collet-Serra was set to direct in 2012 when Warner Bros. had similar budgetary concerns at the time, and the studio went back to the drawing board. I commend the studio for attempting to set the film up for success, although the wait to see this adaptation come to fruition has grown tiring.
In Akira, a secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
