- After 15-years in production, a live-action re-make of Akira is coming to the big screen
- The film is being produced by Lionardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way studios
- Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is attached to the film
- Akira is expected to hit screens on May 21, 2021
After spending years in production hell, Hollywood’s live-action re-make of the Akira manga sensation is finally coming to the big screen.
The film is helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi. It has been given a release date of May 21, 2021. That means it will go head-to-head with the fourth John Wick installment, which will hit cinemas on the same day.
Akira is now being produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way studios, but a Hollywood version has been on the cards for more than 15-years now. A more Western-friendly version was originally on the cards for 2012, starring Garret Hedlund.
It’s expected that Waititi will embrace a more traditional adaptation to the beloved manga series, and will reportedly be casting Asian actors in the movie’s title roles.
The original manga (which is essentially Japanese for ‘comic book’) was written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, and is set in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo.
The story follows Tesuo, a teenager who discovers he has powerful telekenitic abilities that threaten the world. The manga was turned into an animated feature film in 2988.
Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit film – starring Scarlett Johansson and Rebel Wilson, will open in October 2019. The director is also connected to be working on The Mandalorian, a series set in the Star Wars Universe and slated to air on Disney’s new streaming platform later this year.
