After years in development, 18-months ago a live action version of Akira got close enough to shooting that a production office had opened, getting ready to build the sets. Then Warner Bros. pulled the plug and it seemed the idea was completely dead.
However now it’s come back to life and they’re even trying to keep the same director, as Jaume Collet-Serra is in discussions to come back and helm the movie, according to Variety.
Warner Bros. had been exploring other options to direct, including Catfish and Paranormal Activity 4 directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, but ultimately the studio was still fond of Jaume Collet-Serra’s vision. The Unknown and Orphan director is apparently keen to sign up as he’s found an opening in his schedule, and he’s also found a different way to approach the movie and trim the $90 million budget, which is why production was halted in the first place.
Steve Kloves and Albert Torres previously worked on the script, but it isn’t known if the studio is reworking the screenplay. Garrett Hedlund had been attached to play Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang who tries to rescue his best friend Tetsuo from a mysterious supernatural experiment, with Dane DeHaan and Michael Pitt also being looked at to star. It’s no known if any of them will be brought back.
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