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[Ross61]

On last week’s Meet the Movie Press, I passed along a rumor that Daniel Espinosa and David F. Sandberg were in the running to direct the live-action AKIRA movie for Warner Bros. but here on the ground at CinemaCon that discussion has shifted, with insiders saying the studio is moving aggressively to lock in Jordan Peele to direct coming off the mega-success of Get Out.

Warner Bros. has been enamored with Peele ever since Get Out opened to big business and sparked a cultural conversation. At one point, I thought the studio was going to ask him to direct THE FLASH. Who knows? They still could! But I’m told Akira is the WB project they’re currently discussing with Peele, and the talks have apparently been encouraging.

Representatives for Warner Bros. and Peele did not immediately respond to an after-hours request for comment.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is producing Akira with Andrew Lazar (American Sniper). Marco Ramirez (Netflix’s Daredevil) wrote the most recent draft of the script, though it’s expected that Peele would do his own pass should he close a deal.

Warner Bros. has struggled for years to gets its live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic manga off the ground, and the property has languished in development to fans’ dismay. The film nearly went into production several years ago with Jaume Collet-Serra directing Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart, but the plug was pulled at the last minute.

Now I know what you’re thinking. I’ve cried wolf before about Akira. In addition to Espinosa (whose Life just underperformed) and Sandberg (who ended up getting the bigger Shazam gig), I’ve said that Justin Lin was being sought to direct at one point. But all of those names were floated on the podcast, never published. Our sourcing is solid on this one, but of course, I’m not at the negotiating table, and The Flash remains a tantalizing, not to mention even higher-profile possibility.

So, what would a deal with Peele mean for Akira? Well for starters, he would be an exciting coup for a project that has unfortunately developed a reputation as being “troubled.” At the time, many blogs were upset about casting Hedlund and Stewart as traditionally Asian leads — the same issues that have plagued Paramount’s upcoming Ghost in the Shell. But Peele deftly navigated racial themes in Get Out, and it’s that very sensitivity that could make him the perfect director for the job.

Peele’s directorial debut Get Out has grossed more than $150 million on a reported budget of less than $5 million. Insiders say he’s refreshingly unpredictable and could always decide to stick with making socially-conscious genre films that give him more creative freedom for the time being, but the feeling within the industry is he’s ready to make the big-budget leap now.

Peele, who will be in Las Vegas on Thursday to accept CinemaCon’s Director of the Year Award, is represented by CAA, Principato-Young entertainment and attorney Jared Levine.

http://www.tracking-board.com/hot-off-get-out-jordan-peele-is-being-courted-to-direct-akira-for-warner-bros-exclusive/

 

[Fat4all]

wat da fuck

 

[evanmisha]

...I'm listening.

 

[Leona Lewis]

and the property has languished in development to fans’ dismay

That's one way of putting it, I guess.

 

[BearPawB]

Sure why not

 

[robotrock]

SOLD

 

[wamberz1]

Thats uhhh... quite the genre shift
also

 

[kurahador]

Neo Hood.

 

[newtypepilot]

NOOICE

 

[wandering]

My interest is piqued.

 

[Ottaro]

Now you have my attention.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

tracking-board.com

I remember this website but not its validity.

Someone help me out here.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

I'm so happy for Jordan, he deserves this.

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

I'd rather see Cowboy Bebop get adapted.



...... or rather, not. That one is so dependent on the actors' charisma that it's bound to fail.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Glad he's getting recognition for his work. Hope he doesn't do it and sticks to his plans. Definitely wanna see what he's been cooking up..

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

This is one of those rumours that sounds too good to be true.

 

[Dishwalla]

Aah so much yelling!

 

[jacobeid]

o.0

 

[MegaManTrigger]

Akira is one of those movies that I can't understand why there seems to be such a need to adapt. The medium of choice was perfect for its story and visual, that going to live action would seem an odd headscratcher at best.

 

[zeemumu]

Get Out was great, but is he up to the task of doing an adaptation?

 

[Einchy]

Get Snoop Dogg, that man is a real weeaboo.

 

[cirrhosis]

Woke Akira. Pretty meta.

 

[robotrock]

Fuck the yamashirogumi

Give me that aoki

 

[akira28]

He's shown he has a fine understanding of layers. Now give him an asian cast and let him work on 3 movies.

Glad he's getting recognition for his work. Hope he doesn't do it and sticks to his plans. Definitely wanna see what he's been cooking up..

good damn point. It would be just like them to toss brotherman a lit and sparking, live hand grenade, just to see if he'll catch it.

 

[jack_package_200]

Can't be accused of white washing if the director is black and the cast is likely racially diverse

Glad to see Jordan getting recognition.

 

[itwasTuesday]

To challenge Jordan Peele is to court Akira.

 

[Monocle]

I HOPE HE DOES A GOOD JOB

ALTHOUGH HONESTLY WHO WATCHES GET OUT AND THINKS YEP WE'VE FOUND OUR AKIRA GUY

HOLLYWOOD LOGIC AMIRITE

 

[TheGreatDirector]

 

[broncobuster]

Guy cops to a previous sketchy rumor about Akira, somehow jumps to assuming Warners wants Peele for The Flash, and now he's wanted for Akira?

Wouldn't be against but that rumor reads suspect.

 

[AlexFlame116]

Good for him! Hope he scores it if true!

SPOILERS!

Spoiler

I want the girl to survive this time. Not get...squished or whatever happened to her. Soured my experience...

 

[Dram]

How upset would people be if Kaneda and Tetsuo were cast with Black actors?

 

[Vic_Viper]

Kinda random but ok lol. Whatever gets this movie made is fine by me. Cant believe DiCaprio still owns the rights too. Wonder if he still wants to play the lead, especially after all the white washing complaints lately.

Justin Lin would have been my choice.

 

[J_Viper]

Marco Ramirez (Netflix’s Daredevil) wrote the most recent draft of the script, though it’s expected that Peele would do his own pass should he close a deal

That's good to hear, because the writing in Daredevil...man

 

[torre_avenue]

He's going to turn it down.

Right?

 

[Hero Prinny]

why? cmon warner, just kill this thing once and for all :|

 

[chrisPjelly]

How the fuck do you go from writing on MadTv to being very close to being the helm of Akira?! Congrats on Jordan regardless.

 

[LewieP]

Is Shazam really a bigger deal than Akira?!?

 

[Bronx-Man]

Interesting.

 

[hateradio]

This fucking shit. 😂

 

[robotrock]

After Get Out, I can't imagine Peele directing anything he hasn't actually written himself.

That screenplay is too sharp

 

[gforguava]

I pray to all the gods he doesn't do this, the last thing I want is for him to get crushed under the weight of big budget studio bullshit.

 

[Seesaw15]

All Black Akira baby!

But seriously Peele's a talented genre director and seems like he'd be a fan of the source material. If he's surrounded by talented enough people this could be another Russo Brothers situation.

 

[Stinkles]

We Steampunk now yo

 

[Ross61]

Is Shazam really a bigger deal than Akira?!?

A superhero movie vs an anime movie in today's market. I'd say yes.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Don't do it Peele.

Let that thing languish were it is. He's got a huge ticket so for the love of god don't get stuck with that mess of landmine for his next project.

 

[EdibleKnife]

Glad he's getting recognition for his work. Hope he doesn't do it and sticks to his plans. Definitely wanna see what he's been cooking up..

Yeah. Peele's talents are better for something else rather than a property as unwieldy & unnecessary as Akira, despite knowing he probably do well and might actually be interested in not whitewashing it/using a diverse cast

 

[The Driver]

Hope he turns this shit down and keeps doing his thing. I think he would be cool for the Flash but he should at least do his thing for one more movie before getting turned into a cog in the machine.

 

[Imperial Bishop]

I'd be down for an all-black Akira cast.

 

[wisdom0wl]

How upset would people be if Kaneda and Tetsuo were cast with Black actors?

I'd personally be as upset as I was when Johansson got cast as Motoko Kusanagi.

 

[J_Viper]

Is Shazam really a bigger deal than Akira?!?

It has The Rock in it, so it's literally bigger.