The live-action adaptation of Akira has been drowning in a special kind of Hollywood hell for years, with many different directors, many false starts, and many white actors attached to star. If you ask most fans of the famed cult manga and animated feature, it was probably best for everyone to just let this one die.
Taika Waititi's 'Akira' Will Take Off In Summer 2021
But Akira is not dead. It lives. Warner Bros. has announced that Taika Waititi is directing Akira. Officially. Finally. Seriously, the rumors started like two years ago. And hey, the script is co-written by Michael Golamco, who co-wrote the upcoming Netflix romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe with Randall Park and Ali Wong.
These are all very positive developments.
It’s been absolutely incredible writing this with @TaikaWaititi and working with Team Akira at @wbpictures. I’ve been a die-hard fan since I was a kid, and being a part of this now is humbling and thrilling #Kaneda #Kei #Tetsuo #NeoTokyo #AKIRA
— Michael Golamco (@michaelgolamco) May 24, 2019
Based on Katsuhiro Otomo's classic six-volume graphic novel, Akira centers on a secret military project that endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop. The famed 1988 feature adaptation is considered one of the most influential animated works of all time.
Previous attempts to make this movie have been fraught with the usual business of whitewashing. They came kind of close to doing it in 2012, with Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart set to star before the studio shelved the project. Waititi has previously stated that he would want to tell the story with Asian teenagers.
If you ask me, I could do without a new Hollywood adaptation of Akira. I'm good. But nobody asked me. And Hollywood will keep trying. So if this has to happen, I think I could get behind a live-action Akira directed by Taika Waititi, written by Michael Golamco, and starring an Asian cast. Hell yes. I'm in.
Akira is set for release on May 21, 2021. Mark your calendars.
More here: Taika Waititi's 'Akira' Sets 2021 Release Date
