Every time news comes up regarding the Akira live-action project I just want to sigh and ignore it, mostly because it never actually goes anywhere and it’s just the lightest of conversations. The only piece that was interesting in the last couple of years beyond the usual what-if moments was when Katsuhiro Otomo talked about his conditions for the film.
The latest piece that’s come up is that Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is in some level of talks with Warner Bros. about taking on the project for the studio as they’re really intent on making this happen after years of development and work across the Pacific. What this round of talks has revealed is that they’re still looking to do it as a two-film project with the original six-volume omnibus run of the manga being split roughly in half as needed.
While it does look like Waititi is breathing some strong life into the Thor: Ragnarok film that has me very keen on it, I’m feeling a real wariness of him with this project because it doesn’t feel like it’s his style in the slightest. With his writing and directorial work it’s mostly leaned more towards comedy or dramedy material as opposed to straight on serious material that a film like Akira would need. That said, directors expand and show off new direction all the time and his work on Thor: Ragnarok may have opened him up to shifting gears once other commitments are out of the way.
Plot Concept: The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when dormant paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, who becomes a target for a shadowy government operation, a group who will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like that which leveled Tokyo.
