What Needs To Happen For The Live Action Akira Movie To Be Made, According To The Creator
Hollywood has been trying to make a live-action version of Akira for some time. While the project has never died, neither has it ever made it very far off the ground. The creator of the original manga doesn't have a problem with a remake happening, on one condition. Katsuhiro Otomo was recently asked what he thought of the attempt to a western, live-action, version of his story. Otomo says that's all fine with him, as long as he approves of the film's direction.
Some degree of script approval is not uncommon when it comes to adaptations of books. Quite often the author of the original work doesn't want the film version to stray too far from the story they wrote, and so some sort of author approval is part of the agreement for the studio to get the film rights in the first place. While Katsuhiro Otomo is fine with others making his story, he tells Forbes, that he's not giving up complete control.
Akira is a cyberpunk story set in a post-World War III Tokyo, where a leader of a biker gang has to stop a friend from using his new found physic abilities to free Akira, a being that previously destroyed the city.
What's most interesting, however, is that while most authors require approval because they want to be sure that their original story isn't torn to shreds, Katsuhiro Otomo apparently, doesn't feel that way. In fact, he's of the opinion that a direct adaptation of his work as a live-action film is probably not the way to go. Not that he has any desire to do it himself.
It makes sense that Katsuhiro Otomo might not expect a live action movie to follow in the footsteps of the previous endeavors. The anime film that he directed based on his own manga made some significant changes from the original comic, if he were to make a live-action version, he'd likely make additional changes on top of that.
For a second it looked like the Akira remake might get a jumpstart recently when the director of Get Out, Jordan Peele, was offered the director's chair. However, Peele ultimately decided he wanted to focus on his own original film ideas, and he turned the film down. Now we wait to see if anybody else wants to give it a try.
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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.