Despite years of starts and stops, countless creative switcheroos and plenty of bad buzz, the live-action Akira movie remake refuses to die. According to the Variety, Warner Brothers has greenlit another attempt to get this damn thing off the ground: Warners greenlights 'Akira'; Hedlund front-runner.
According to Variety, the studio has given the go-ahead to this latest iteration of the project, with a significantly re-worked script, a scaled-back budget of $90 million, and Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra at the helm.
For fans still foolishly holding on to hope that Hollywood's version of Akira will be a story of about Kaneda, Tetsuo and the gang riding cool motorcycles around Neo-Tokyo, let it go. This is not that movie. Tron Legacy star Garrett Hedlund is reportedly in top contention for the lead role:
Warner Bros. has greenlit its live-action remake of the anime cult hit "Akira" for a late February/early March start, sources tell Variety.
In July, Warners tapped Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra ("Unknown" ) to direct at a budget of $90 million, which was brought down from an initial figure of well over $100 million. Where the budget stands now isn't clear, and Warner Bros. had no comment on the project.
With a greenlight in place, studio can begin shopping for the two male leads; sources tell Variety that "Tron: Legacy" star Garrett Hedlund is considered a front-runner. Both Warners and Collett-Sera have been keen on the thesp, but had to wait for a greenlight to make their move.
Though no offer's been made, insiders say an offer could come soon.
We've been following the ups and downs (mostly downs) of this project for a long time. I'm simply stopped caring. If you're going to make a movie that strays so far from the original work, why even bother calling it Akira? I appreciate HitFix's take on it: Warner Bros gives 'Akira' the greenlight with Garrett Hedlund eyed to star.