A live-action remake of the manga classic will be coming to the big screen.
After much speculation, a Warner Bros live-action remake of Akira will now begin moving forward, with Leonardo DiCaprio confirmed as the producer and Taika Waititi supposedly on board as the project’s director. This week (2 April), the project was allocated an $18.5 million tax credit from the California Film Commission’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program 2.0.
Warner Bros’ executive VP of physical production and finance Ravi Mehta said, “We are thrilled with the opportunity to shoot Akira in California. The availability of top-notch crew members, plus the wide variety of location choices and predictable weather are second to none.”
DiCaprio will be working via his production company Appian Way, alongside Jennifer Davisson. Waititi was first rumoured to be involved as the director in 2017 after Jordan Peele turned down the offer. In October 2017, Waititi told IGN, “I actually love the books. Love the movie, but I would not do a remake of the movie. I would do an adaptation of the books.”
On the cast, he added, “Yeah, actually Asian teenagers would be the way to do it for me and probably no, not, like no name, I mean sort of unfound, untapped talent.”
The location, however, has sparked controversy as the manga, written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, is set in the post-apocalyptic Neo Tokyo and has little to do with California. The manga follows the story of two teenage boys involved with a local motorcycle gang. An animated film adaptation was released in 1988.
Listen to an alternative soundtrack for Akira, mixed by Lord Tusk.
