Live-Action 'Akira' Lands 'Daredevil' Showrunner as Writer

Warner Bros. simply won't give up on Akira. They've been trying to adapt the manga/anime classic forever, at least as long as this site has been around because it was one of the first things I remember writing about extensively. It came pretty close to happening a few years ago with Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan) directing and Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ken Watanabe circling lead roles. But it never happened, and now Warner Bros. is reviving the project yet again with a Daredevil showrunner coming aboard as screenwriter.

THR reports that Marco J. Ramirez, a writer on Daredevil's first season and a co-showrunner on season two, will pen the Akira screenplay. It was only a year ago that Dante Harper (Edge of Tomorrow) was hired to do the very same thing, but maybe his script didn't pass muster. Leonardo DiCaprio, is still set to produce through his Appian Way banner, and no, he isn't taking a role for himself.

This updated version of Katsuhiro Otomo's story transports the action from neo-Tokyo to New Manhattan where a biker gang leader is forced to battle his best friend who has been driven mad by government experiments on his telekinetic abilities.