‘Akira’ Live-Action Remake Will Be Produced By Leonardo DiCaprio

April 4, 2019

The highly anticipated live-action remake of the beloved anime/manga “Akira” has been confirmed to be in full swing with the announcement of Leonardo DiCaprio as producer.

Warner Bros acquired the rights to create a live-action remake of Akira back in 2002 and has been stuck in development hell ever since.

The project has undergone several failed attempts to produce it, with at least five different directors and ten different writers known to have been attached to it.

While various actors have been rumored for roles, they mostly generated accusations of whitewashing or racebending for casting White actors in lieu of Japanese ones.

“Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi, who confirmed in 2017 that he was approached to helm the project, assured critics that the film would not be whitewashed.

Waititi noted, however, that the film adaptation will be entirely shot in California, deviating from the original manga and anime, which were both set in dystopian Tokyo.

The director has also earlier stated that he would rather adapt the original 6-volume graphic novel source material instead of remaking the 1988 classic anime movie.

“I actually love the books. Love the movie, but I would not do a remake of the movie. I would do an adaptation of the books,” Waititi said.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ Ravi Mehta said that they are “thrilled” about the opportunity to shoot “Akira” in California, Deadline reports.

“The availability of top-notch crew members, plus the wide variety of location choices and predictable weather are second to none,” he was quoted as saying.

Set in 2019, the classic Japanese animated film follows the story of biker gang leader Shotaro Kaneda, whose childhood friend Tetsuo Shima acquires telekinetic abilities following a bike accident.

Featured images via Instagram and YouTube / leonardodicaprio (left) shanghaidandy (center) and taikawaititi (right)

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