Warner Bros. Has Let Go Of 'Akira' Rights After Two Decades Of Development Difficulty
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“The future is not a straight line. It is filled with many crossroads. There must be a future that we can choose for ourselves.” (Akira)
After twenty years and millions of dollars spent attempting to develop Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic Japanese animated film and dystopian cyberpunk classic, Akira (1988), into a live-action film, Warner Bros. has finally given up on the project. The film, adapted from the manga of the same name, is about a secret military project that endangers Neo-Tokyo when its experiments give a teenage biker gang member, Tetsuo, dangerous increasingly dangerous and uncontrollable psychic powers, and his only friend, Kaneda, might be the only person able to stop him.
Warner Bros. letting go of the rights to the film means that the rights revert to Kodansha, which published Otomo’s manga in 1982, which went on to be adapted into the animated film six years later. The development of the live-action film, whose earlier animated adaptation has become a cult classic among anime fans worldwide, suffered myriad difficulties over the years, which ultimately led to its demise.
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After Warner obtained the rights to the property in 2002, Stephen Norrington (Blade) became attached to the project. The resounding failure of his The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) contributed to his version of the film ultimately withering on the vine. Several years later, Legendary Films was brought on to co-finance the film, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic) and producer Jennifer Davisson (Red Riding Hood) came on board to produce and remained attached to the project until the bitter end. Their dogged determination to the project, however, did not ultimately save it.
Other writers who came and went on the project included Gary Whitta, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Steve Kloves, Allen and Albert Hughes, and Jaume Collet-Sera. Storyboards and concept art were also commissioned and completed, but, unfortunately, languished in file cabinets. The film also faced some cultural backlash due to whitewashing accusations (the film was initially going to be set in “New Manhattan” and production on the film shut down completely in 2012 to rethink the project. Before it was shut down, however, the film had a budget of 90 million dollars and had signed Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy, Country Strong) to the film, with Kirsten Stewart, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ken Watanabe in negotiations to star in the film as well.
Director Taika \Waititi became attached to the project in 2017 as its writer and director, and the development of the film went pretty far, nabbing California tax credits and setting a tentative May 21, 2021, release date. However, Waititi then became pulled in several directions, finishing JoJo Rabbit (2019), directing an episode of The Mandalorian (2019- ), and starting to write Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). Due to Waititi subsequently not recommitting to the project, the project has remained dormant since. Now that the film’s rights have reverted back to Kodansha, producers and talent are reportedly lining up to attach themselves to the project in preparation to be presented to select film studios and streaming platforms, so the project, while its future status remains uncertain, may still be realized in the future.
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Source(s): The Hollywood Reporter
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