They Call Us Bruce - Episode 71: We Call Us Simu Liu's Shang-Chi Audition

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

On this episode, we debrief the big announcement out of Comic-Con: Simu Liu is Shang-Chi, Marvel's Master of Kung Fu! We also pour one out for the recent death of the live-action Akira remake (again).

Taika Waititi is officially directing the live-action 'Akira'

Warner Bros. has set the release date for May 21, 2021.



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.

Is Christopher Nolan working on the live-action 'Akira' movie?

It's the movie project that will not die.



NOOOOOOOOO. No. Noooo. It's the movie project that will not die. Warner Brothers is determined to make the live-action Akira movie happen. The latest unsubstantiated rumor is that none other than Christopher Nolan is in talks to direct a possible film trilogy based on Katsuhiro Otomo's sci-fi manga classic.

Christopher Nolan Finds Himself At the Center of the Biggest Akira Movie Rumor Yet

According to a source close to Warner Brothers, the studio is planning to make a trilogy of films based on Akira, and Christopher Nolan, director Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Night trilogy, recently met with a previously attached filmmaker to talk about the project.

Keep in mind that at this point, this is just a sliver of a guy-who-told-another-guy kind of rumor, in a town full of such rumors. Maybe he's directing it. Maybe he's a producer. I don't actually care. The main takeaway here is that this thing is still on, and my money says they're probably still play on whitewashing the hell out of it.

Dammit. Why won't this 'Akira' remake die?

'Daredevil' showrunner Marco J. Ramirez is the latest to take a crack at the live-action 'Akira' adaptation.



Noooooooo! Warner Brothers' live-action Akira remake appears to be back like a bad rash. The movie project absolutely nobody is asking for seems to be showing signs of life yet again. Marco J. Ramirez, who will be co-showrunning the second season of Netflix's Daredevil, will write the adaptation of the manga classic.

'Daredevil' Showrunner to Write 'Akira' Adaptation for Warner Bros. (Exclusive)

Based on the legendary manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira is an epic sci-fi thriller set in the post-nuclear future of Neo-Tokyo. The dystopian, post-apocalyptic plot revolves around a teenage biker gang, a kid who acquires telekinetic powers, and the shady government agency trying to stop them. The 1988 animated feature version of Akira became a cult classic, and is considered a landmark in Japanese animation.

We've been talking about this damn thing for years. Why won't it just die?

Watch this awesome fan-made live-action 'Akira' trailer

The big-budget Hollywood studio version can suck on this



At this point, millions upon millions of dollars have been sunk into Warner Brothers' proposed whitewashed Hollywood remake of Akira, much to the dismay of fans of the classic, groundbreaking manga and animated feature. I stand with everyone who hopes the project will die a fiery death, and stay dead.

Meanwhile, a group of dedicated fans have been hard at work on their own live-action version of Akira, in the form of a very cool-looking trailer. The Akira Project is a crowd-sourced effort to create a live-action fan trailer. And that's it. Just some die-hard fans dedicated to making an adaptation that is true to the source material.

I first wrote about this a couple of years ago, back when they were fundraising for the project. It looks they've finally completed the damn thing... and it looks pretty amazing. Check it out:

Director still determined to make whitewashed 'Akira' remake

"That’s part of the Japanese culture, they never have strong characters."



Why? Why will this project not die? Why do they insist on trying to make a whitewashed live-action remake of Akira? The on-again, off-again project has been a train wreck from the start. And based on the would-be director's recent comments, this thing should never get made. It deserves to die by atomic fire.

Director Of Aborted White 'AKIRA' Remake Still Determined To Make It Despite Lack Of 'Strong Characters' In Japanese Culture

While doing press for his latest film Non-Stop, director Jaume Collet-Serra was asked about the state of the Akira remake. When pressed on his take on the source material, he wasn't particularly reverent, calling the characters uninteresting. Why? "That's part of the Japanese culture, they never have strong characters."

And this guy wants to adapt one of the most influential pieces of Japanese pop culture ever?

Why The Jeremy Lin Story will star Philip Seymour Hoffman

Totally Biased's Kevin Kataoka drops some knowledge on Hollywood, Asians, and the lack thereof.



Tom Hardy will star in The Outsider, an "epic story" set in post-World War II Japan about a former American G.I. who becomes part of the yakuza. Yay. Another movie about a white guy's adventures in Asia. (The wrinkle with this one is that it marks the Hollywood English-language debut of prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike.)

What's up with that? Here's Totally Biased writer Kevin Kataoka, talking about Hollywood's popular practice of making movies about Asian subject matter... starring someone who is not Asian. Y'all know what I'm talking about. I've been saying it for years. And Kevin knows what's up too: Asian Evasion.

Dammit. The whitewashed Akira remake is back on.

Aggghhh. Sorry, Akira fans. Warner Brothers still seems hell-bent on making this live-action Akira adaptation thing happen, despite the fact that every fan of the original manga and movie seems to think it's an awful idea. Jaume Collet-Serra is reportedly in discussion to direct: Jaume Collet-Serra Returns to Direct 'Akira.'

Collet-Serra was going full-steam ahead with his whitewashed adaptation of the beloved Japanese classic, before production was stalled in early 2012. This version was going to star a mostly-white cast and transplanted the story's post-apocalyptic Japanese setting to "New Manhattan." So yes, hardcore fans breathed a sigh of relief when the project hit the brakes.

But dammit, it looks like the studio is not letting this go:

Unused 'Akira' concept art reveals white Kaneda

Well, would you look at that? io9 recently unearthed some unused concept art from Warner Brothers' doomed live-action remake of Akira.

Not sure what iteration of the project this comes from -- there have been several attempts over the years -- but this batch does reveal the look of a non-Japanese Kaneda. That's something I didn't want to see, even in illustrated form.

Let's hope this project remains dead. To see more images of what "Neo-Manhattan" might have looked like, go here.

The Akira Project

Considering the endless stream of crap we've heard over the years about Warner Brothers' disastrous attempts to produce a live-action adaptation of Akira, this feels like a breath of fresh air...

The Akira Project is an attempt to create a high-end, fan-made live action trailer based on the Akira manga and anime, headed up by Nguyen-Anh Nguyen. To what end? Just because. By fans, for fans.

Of course, this will require money and resources. So there's the requisite IndieGoGo campaign. Here's the pitch video:

'Akira' remake shuts down production. For now.

Good news, Akira fans. Production has shut down on the project we love to hate. For now. Warner Brothers is reportedly halting the live-action remake amid a swirl of casting, script and budget issues: 'Akira' Production Offices Shut Down As Warner Bros. Scrutinizes Budget.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, production offices in Vancouver are being closed, with below-the-line talent and crew being told to stop working and go home. We all knew this thing was a big fat mess. Apparently, the people in charge are finally starting to realize it too:

Why even bother calling it 'Akira'?

Fans of Akira, you should really just ignore every bit of information we get about the live action remake, because none of it is good. This latest one's a big kick in the nuts. A recent casting call that went out for extras and stand-ins reveals an overview of the basic plot summary and the movie's transplanted, new westernized setting: Live-Action Akira Film's Plot Listed by Casting Call.

There is an actual Japanese person in the 'Akira' remake

This news might not matter much to folks who have all but given up on the live-action Akira remake...

It's being reported that Gary Oldman has passed on the role of The Colonel, and the part has been offered to Ken Watanabe instead: BREAKING: No Oldman For AKIRA, WB Offering The Colonel To Ken Watanabe.

Seems like Watanabe has become Warner Brothers' go-to actor when they need an Asian guy up in there. Then again, he was their second choice for the role. But he does feel like a perfect fit for The Colonel.

Yamagata is Japanese American in 'Akira.' Yay.

Anyone tired of Akira casting news yet? Especially when most of it's such bad news...

After being the rumored frontrunner, actor Garrett Hedlund has officially been offered the role of Kaneda. I particularly like io9's headline, with a definitive take on the matter:

Garrett Hedlund offered lead role in Akira. Crap.

Meanwhile, this casting call recently went out for the lead role of "Yamagata," specifically looking for someone who is "Male, 20 to 30 years old, Japanese-American." So... one lead Asian role in this whitewashed mega movie disaster? Well I guess that fixes everything.

akira casting call for tetsuo and ky

This damn Akira movie is indeed happening, whether you like it or not.

Several people have passed along the casting call that has gone out for the lead roles of Tetsuo and Ky. (Garrett Hedlund is reportedly the frontrunner to play Kaneda.)

According to the character breakdowns for Tetsuo and Ky, they're looking for actors of "any ethnicity," though based on what we've seen happen in other movies, that's not much cause to be hopeful.

Here's some more information:

Live-action 'Akira' remake refuses to die

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:

'Akira' gets a new director

For those who were rejoicing over rumors that the live action adaptation of Akira was finished... not so fast. Last week, Warner Brothers announced that it is indeed moving ahead with the project with a lower revised budget and Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra at the helm: Warner Bros. taps 'Unknown' director for 'Akira.'

We've been following the crazy saga behind the making of this film for years. We collectively groaned when we learned that the script re-set the movie in "New Mahattan." We screamed "hell no" when it was reported they were looking to fill the cast with a bunch of white dudes. Then I breathed a sigh of relief when word got out the project was presumed dead. But it looks like it's still on:

hollywood's white akira by enfu

So everybody's kind of up in arms about this whole Akira adaptation casting debacle, in which the studio is seriously considering white actors to play the classic manga/anime's principal characters. Pretty typical.

But what might that actually look like? Artist Ken Taya (aka Enfu) has come up with his own cleverly illustrated vision of the blond, Hollywood-ized Kaneda. Here's also a hi-res version of the image where you can insert your own snarky caption in the word bubble:

You're a Big Dodo: The Children Speak Out on 'Akira'

So you've heard about the controversy over the whitewashed casting of the live-action Hollywood adaptation of Akira. You've heard the arguments from fans on all sides. But has anyone bothered asking the children? What do the kids think? In this sobering, totally serious video from 5 Forces of G, the children speak out and address this controversial casting. And it is not pretty:

Live-Action 'Akira' Adaptation: Starring White People!

So we've know that there's been a live-action adaptation of the manga/anime classic Akira in the works for a while now -- literally for years.

In the last year, the project has seen some major developments, with the Hughes Brothers attached to direct and an allegedly epic screenplay by Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves. There was a moment late last year when Zac Efron was rumored to be attached to the project, but that thankfully didn't pan out.

The studio has its eye on possible stars for the movie... and surprise, surprise, the actors are are all white. According to Deadline.com the script has been a sent to s short list of actors that includes Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, James MacAvoy, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix: