No matter how you slice it, this has to be better than Dragonball Evolution. I hope.
Earlier today, entertainment news source Tracking Board reported that Warner Bros. is courting Jordan Peele to direct the live-action Akira film. According to author Jeff Sneider:
Warner Bros. has been enamored with Peele ever since Get Out opened to big business and sparked a cultural conversation. […] I’m told Akira is the WB project they’re currently discussing with Peele, and the talks have apparently been encouraging.
Last year, Sneider reported that Warner was courting Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin to helm the project.
In 2015, Marco J. Ramirez (Orange is the New Black, Daredevil Season 2) was hired to pen a new draft of the script. Andrew Lazar and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way will produce the feature, with Drew Crevello and Nik Mavinkurve overseeing production for Warner Brothers.
Jordan Peele has been active in the entertainment industry since 2002. Peele first came to prominence in 2003, when he joined the cast of MADtv as a performer. He appeared in numerous larger titles following MADtv, including Reno 911! and Key & Peele.
Peele made his directorial début earlier this year, with the critically acclaimed horror film Get Out. The film was nominated for “Movie of the Year” in this year’s MTV Movie Awards.
Akira has bounced in and out of the headlines since Warner licensed the film rights for Katsuhiro Otomo’s original manga in 2008. Since then, the movie has seen numerous writers attached to the project, including Gary Whitta, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Albert Torres. Similarly, the film was originally slated to be directed by Ruairi Robinson.
The adaptation came its closest to full production in 2011, when it was greenlit for production, which would begin in early 2012. Jaume Collett-Serra (House of Wax) was pegged to direct, while actors Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Ken Watanabe, and Helena Bonham Carter were in various stages of negotiations. Production was killed in January 2012 with Warner citing a combination of casting, script, and budgetary issues.
Source: Tracking Board
