Akira (film)

In 2000, it was first announced that a live-action Akira film was in the works at Warner Bros.; later re-announced in 2002 but with still no set release date the coming years. In general, there were multiple planned ideas for an Akira film, and changes of directors, with none of them materializing completely.

Plot

The plot remains the same as the manga series (mentioned earlier). A short premise was revealed in 2019 on the news website Deadline for specifically the Taika Waititi version: "A secret military project 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".

Development

Sony

The idea for an Akira movie has existed from as early as the 1990s. Shortly after the release of the 1988 Akira film, Sony Pictures was interested in giving the comics a film adaptation with the new intent of making it live-action, though it was quickly canned, and nothing else has come out of it.

Warner Bros.

Once again in 2000, the film was announced, then re-announced In 2002 to be in the works at Warner Bros. as a seven-figure deal. Shortly after Warner Bros. acquired the rights, Stephen Norrington was slated to direct with James Robinson writing the screenplay, and Dan Lin producing (the film was going to be set in Chicago and was going to make Kaneda and Tetsuo brothers). Though, following the the commercial failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003, the project was put on hold. Throughout the Warner Bros. version's extremely disastrous development, it has had a constant switch up of directors, with at first the director being Ruairi Robinson in 2008, the Hughes brothers (Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes) in 2009, Jaume Collet-Sera in 2011, and finally, Taika Waititi in 2017.

In Robinson's version, Gary Whitta was planned as a screenwriter, promising the film for release in 2009. with producer Andrew Lazar specifying that the two movies planned for this version would each cover three volumes of the six-volume manga. Robinson attended multiple interviews explaining and updating everyone about the film. The film were to star Chris Evans as Kaneda, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tetsuo. He later left the project due to numerous issues during its production.

In the Hughes brothers' version, they replaced Robinson and used Gary Whitta's old script, with additional rewrites by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, with plans to aim for a PG-13 rating. Versions of the script for this version began to surface online like wildfire in 2011. In February, selections from an older draft of the screenplay were sent to casting agencies and circulated online, providing glimpses at changes the adaptation was making, however the changes are too graphic to explain here, which gave them a lot of controversy. The brothers later left the project early in 2008 due to the 9/11 attacks.

In Collet-Serra's version, Steve Kloves was providing revision work on a draft by screenwriter Albert Torres. The film was greenlit in October 2011, with filming eyed to begin by February or March 2012. Filming was gearing up to begin in Vancouver, though WB halted production, citing issues with casting, the script and the budget. Collet-Serra would depart the film during this time, but would return in August 2013. He detailed his vision for the film in February 2014, stating that it would be respectful of the source material, but would still have differences. New drafts of the screenplay were completed by Dante Harper in 2014 and Marco Ramirez in July 2015. By 2017, he left the project.

In Taika Waititi's version, he announced in 2017 that he was taking over as director. In May 2019, Waititi was officially confirmed to direct the film, and would be co-writing the script with Michael Golamco, with a release date of May 21, 2021. Filming was scheduled to have commenced in California in July 2019. Waititi had planned to adapt the original six-volume manga, rather than directly remaking the anime film. Though, Akira was once again put on hold and removed from Warner Bros. release schedule. In June 2025, Warner Bros. declined to renew the rights to the live-action film, ending Waititi's involvement with the project as the rights returned to Akira manga publisher Kodansha, and thus, permanently ended plans of a live-action adaptation of the film made in the West.

Why It Was Cancelled

1. There were concerns of over-whitewashing/race-bending through the film's cast, as they were casting American or other Western actors in lieu of Japanese ones, which has frequently come to light when such actors have been reported as under consideration for these roles.
2. The team has trouble trying to set the film outside of Japan due to the heavy influence on the original story of Japan's role in World War II, including the atomic bombings of Japan, and their own Unit 731.
3. The film was delayed too many times, which stressed the development team(s) out.

Results

• The film was first put in a indefinite hold, then permanently cancelled.
• Taika Waititi went on to direct Thor: Love And Thunder instead.
• During an interview with Wired, Waititi said that he was not going to give up on making the film happen, however, no updates have since emerged to prove he's actually continuing it beyond the writing stage, as of 2023.

Trivia

• Besides the primary ones, Warner Bros. previously sought new directors to take over the film. Jordan Peele and George Miller were two of the most considered, but both declined as they were busy with other projects.

Gallery

Concept art for the film.

Art of Kaneda and Travis.

Ditto, but with Kaneda, Travis, and even Cyrus.

Art of a dark scene with Akira's motorcycle.

Art of a scene.

Art of a scene 2.

Art of a scene 3.

Art of Akira's motorcycle.

Art of a scene 4.

Art of a scene 5.

Art of some considered character designs.

Art of Akira in a gloomy background.