Film reporter Jeff Sneider has revealed on his weekly videocast that Warner Bros. has renewed interest in a live-action Akira movie and that the filmmakers behind Life and Lights Out are candidates to direct.
The last update on the anime adaptation came in June 2016, when WB was said to be negotiating with Star Trek Beyond helmer Justin Lin. It would appear a deal never came to fruition as the studio is now eyeing Daniel Espinosa and David Sandberg.
WB acquired the rights to Akira back in 2008 and the project has seen a host of different directors and actors attached to the adaptation including Jaume Collet-Serra, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Ken Watanabe, Ezra Miller, Morgan Freeman, Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter. The film actually made it as far as pre-production in 2012 before the studio pulled the plug, citing budget concerns.
With Edge of Tomorrow achieving relative success and upcoming live-action adaptations of Ghost in the Shell, Death Note and Battle Angel Alita hitting theaters in the coming months, Hollywood just might be looking to anime to compete with comic book movies after repeated failures with video game movies.
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