Taika Waititi’s Long-Delayed Live-Action ‘Akira’ Movie Reportedly Scrapped

Among the string of live-action anime adaptations created over the past few years, one that has consistently avoided significant advancements in the pre-production stage is an adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal work, Akira. Originally published from 1982 to 1990, Akira is a cyberpunk post-apocalyptic story that revolves around several different figures in Japan’s crumbling society, whether it be through the teenage biker gang led by Shotaro Kaneda, the revolutionary Kei, or the Military leader Colonel Shikishima. While there has been some news about Akira moving forward at Warner Bros., it seems that the project is finally dead in the water.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the rights to Akira have finally reverted to its original publisher, Kodansha Comics. Warner Bros. had first acquired the rights to Akira all the way back in 2002, and in the 23 years since then, a revolving door of writers and directors have been attached to the project. One prominent version of the adaptation, which nearly came to fruition and starred Garrett Hedlund alongside Kirsten Stewart, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ken Watanabe, was indefinitely put on hold before the project fell apart.

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These anime have left an indelible mark on television with their stunning visuals, excellent storytelling, and thought-provoking themes.

The most recent attempt at adapting the manga is also probably the most well-known, with writer and director Taika Waititi signing up to direct what would more than likely be an ambitious live-action adaptation. While previous iterations would have Americanized the story, it was reported that Waititi would want to create a version of the film loyal to the manga, with an all-Asian cast to do the cultural backdrop of the story justice. However, this version of the film would never come to be, either, as Waititi did not fully commit to the project and ultimately dropped it entirely.

The Opinions on the Creative Team Behind Live-Action ‘Akira’ Have Shifted Dramatically in Recent Years

Toho

While the news of the rights to Akira being up for grabs and Waititi not being able to helm the project seems disappointing at first glance, many fans of Akira (and anime in general) have taken to social media to express their relief that the film isn’t going forward. One user on X would state that the “movie doesn’t need a live-action iteration, it was perfect, beautiful, and meticulously animated by hand. Doing a live-action version does the animators a disservice.” The user is, of course, referring to the 1988 anime film adaptation of the same name that was directed by Otomo, the author of the original work.

The Akira anime film is often regarded as one of the best animated films ever made, as well as a wonderful adaptation of the original manga. Another user on X would say, “Thank god, honestly. Not the right director.” While Waititi was initially seen as a talented director for his work on films such as Hunt For the Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarök, the filmmaker has recently fallen out of grace with fans on social media, due to his work on the 2022 sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder, which would not be nearly as well received as his previous Marvel Studios film.

Overall, live-action anime and manga adaptations can be challenging and are more heavily criticized than adaptations of novels, video games, or comic books. The medium of animation has long been seen as the best way to bring manga to life, and it seems that that will likely remain the preference of the majority. While Waititi may no longer be the filmmaker that fans online want to helm a new version of Akira, there may be other talented filmmakers who could do the manga justice with a live-action production.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, X

Akira

Release Date

July 16, 1988

Runtime

124 Minutes

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