Back in June I wrote about the apparent death of the proposed live-action big screen adaptation of Akira, arguably the most well known and popular anime ever. Well, reports of it's death have been greatly exaggerated, as Warner Bros. has hired Children of Men screenwriters, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, to handle scripting duties on the film. Both men also collaborated on Iron Man last year.
Leonardo Dicaprio's Appian Way production house is still co-producing the film, which led many to think that he would play a starring role in the film. Uh...no. A bit old, I think, although with a little make-up he would make an interesting Nezu. Past rumors suggested Joseph Gordon-Leavitt in a prominent role, but the actor declined any involvement.
I feel the same way about this as I did a couple months ago. I love Akira, and would like to see a live-action version but I'm not so sure I want it handled by the WB. If it were a Japanese production I'd have more confidence that the big ideas involved won't be watered down or jettisoned completely in favor of making a streamlined popcorn flick. I want all of this stories complexities to remain intact.
Collider has more on the story right here.
