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[MMarston]

Journalist Jeff Snieder revealed in the latest Meet the Movie Press, “It seems that Warner Bros are courting Justin Lin of ‘Star Trek Beyond’ to direct ‘Akira.’”

Reportedly a script has been completed by Marco Ramirez (showrunner on Marvel’s TV series ‘Daredevil’), and Leonardo DiCaprio - once cited as a potential star - is on board as producer.

While Snieder says there is “no word on whether Justin Lin wants to do the movie,” it is noted that the director (also responsible for ‘Fast & Furious’ 3 to 6) is attached to another Warner Bros property, ‘Space Jam 2,’ so he’s clearly held in good stead at the studio.

The 1988 animated movie from director Katsuhiro Otomo (adapted from his own Manga series) has long been one of the most highly regarded and influential anime movies.

https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/justin-lin-eyed-to-direct-live-action-akira-162742033.html

stopitsalreadydead.gif

My name is Kaneda Washington Sawyer Finn Bush Cheney Pamela Anderson Lee if old.

 

[bearythebear]

Let's hope that leads to a Japanese actor playing the lead

Spoiler

(probably not though...)

 

[kruis]

I can't think of any sane person wanting this.

 

[lightskintwin]

It'll be interesting to see what Hollywood's take on the property will be and how they'll adapt it to western sensibilities.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Hopefully it not only leads to Lin casting Japanese or Japanese-American actors and setting the film in Japan, but his leaving Space Jam 2.

 

[lightskintwin]

Hopefully it not only leads to Lin casting Japanese or Japanese-American actors and setting the film in Japan, but his leaving Space Jam 2.

That's alotta hope.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I'm a hopeful guy

 

[Monochromaticx]

"Leonardo DiCaprio - once cited as a potential star"

Hahaha

 

[shira]

Hopefully it not only leads to Lin casting Japanese or Japanese-American actors and setting the film in Japan, but his leaving Space Jam 2.

Is ScarJo available?

 

[J2 Cool]

"Leonardo DiCaprio - once cited as a potential star"

Hahaha

He has the right head shape tho

 

[lightskintwin]

I'm a hopeful guy

Y'know, given the recent uproar over Asian American casting or lack thereof, is it possible Hollywood may actually take a chance and do something out of the ordinary in a big budget, blockbuster special effects laden science fiction film?

I just can't see it, at best I can see them make some of the supporting characters Asian.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

[O Canada Our Home and Native Land]

Hopefully it not only leads to Lin casting Japanese or Japanese-American actors and setting the film in Japan, but his leaving Space Jam 2.

If I had to choose between Akira and Space Jam 2, I would choose Space Jam 2. There already is a movie called Akira and it's a fine movie by itself that doesn't need to be retold in a live action movie. If they sold the rights to Netflix and they made a tv show to flesh out the story from the manga that could be interesting.

 

[mjontrix]

Please stop these live action anime adaptations.
Please stop. This also goes for the Made in Japan ones.

How is Akira even going to work with the last quarter of the movie? That's going to be some impressive CGI...

My Q is - who's going to watch these movies? The anime fans refuse to accept them, the older audience won't know what an Akira is, and the younger audience just wants to see Transformers 7: Explosions on Mars.

 

[Dark Ninja]

Just like Superhero movies its gonna take many many industry and studio killing flops for a decent anime movie to be made. You probably wont see it in your lifetime.

 

[HariKari]

Not if Beyond bombs.

 

[lightskintwin]

Just like Superhero movies its gonna take many many industry and studio killing flops for a decent anime movie to be made. You probably wont see it in your lifetime.

Remember a lot of anime are adaptations of manga. In that regard, Edge of Tomorrow is by far the best Hollywood adaptation of a manga and a damn good movie to boot.

 

[MMarston]

Remember a lot of anime are adaptations of manga. In that regard, Edge of Tomorrow is by far the best Hollywood adaptation of a manga and a damn good movie to boot.

Going back to mjontrix point in his post though, not much people went to see it regardless

 

[O Canada Our Home and Native Land]

Remember a lot of anime are adaptations of manga. In that regard, Edge of Tomorrow is by far the best Hollywood adaptation of a manga and a damn good movie to boot.

Edge of Tomorrow was based off a light novel and I think there were a lot of changes made to it from the source material. But yeah that was a damn good movie.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

If I had to choose between Akira and Space Jam 2, I would choose Space Jam 2. There already is a movie called Akira and it's a fine movie by itself that doesn't need to be retold in a live action movie.

And a sequel to a movie that was nothing but an extension of a 60sec shoe commercial is that much better a choice.

Nah.

There's already a movie called Space Jam and it had the greatest basketball player who ever lived and an audience who kinda/sorta still cared about Bugs Bunny and it was still a fucking pile.

A live-action crack at one of the greatest mangas ever made is worth the risk of revisiting. Space Jam is not.

 

[lightskintwin]

Going back to mjontrix point in his post though, not much people went to see it regardless

Well it didn't bomb, but it's box office was a disappointment; however in that case the edit:light novel brought no brand recognition at all hence the reason they felt comfortable retitling it. It actually existed on it's own merits as if it were an original film. Akira is well known property even if people have never read the manga or watched the anime film.

 

[Dan]

When is Justin Lin going to use his success to make something original? I thought I remembered him getting some scripts into development after his first couple Fast movies.

 

[Fudgepuppy]

Edge of Tomorrow was based off a light novel and I think there were a lot of changes made to it from the source material. But yeah that was a damn good movie.

How the fuck did you get a GIF as an avatar?

 

[platakul]

R&J era Dicaprio would have made a sick Kaneda. I'd actually go for Maisie Williams has Kaneda and a jesse eisenberg (but obviously younger) type for Tetsuo

 

[reKon]

Let's see how the new star trek does first ?

 

[Akahige]

I like Justin Lin enough, I'd be okay with this grain of salt being true. If anything atleast he'll get that brother/family aspect right and give us a few insane set pieces.

I mean someone with a really unique visual outlook would be my first choice, I know it's too much to ask for a Nolan produced/Ben Wheatley directed Akira, but Lin has more than proven himself.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Emma Stone as Kaneda
Scarlet Johansson as Tetsuo
Sun Kang as Akira

 

[Discotheque]

Just like Superhero movies its gonna take many many industry and studio killing flops for a decent anime movie to be made. You probably wont see it in your lifetime.

Death Note one could be decent with the talent involved. Despite the wack lead role casting.

 

[zugzug]

I wonder whoose script they are working from now. when I first saw this I thought of Gary Whitta but then an hour later I seem to recall Whitta tweeting out that he is not involved and never will be again so stop asking him.....I proceeded to ask him like an idiot.

 

[lightskintwin]

Their best bet is to completely westernize the adaptation including the names (except Akira obviously) and locate it in future New York or London, etc... and have a diverse cast.

 

[LewieP]

We already had Chronicle.

 

[Mush]

How the fuck did you get a GIF as an avatar?

NeoGAF Gold+

 

[Bishop89]

goodluck hollywood

 

[wenis]

Whatever the fuck this becomes. I want it. I want it so bad I can taste it.

 

[Jon Carter]

Justin Lin isn't a bad choice in any way. All his films are well-directed. The script and casting matter way more than whether the guy making it also happens to be "The Fast and Furious guy."

 

[Mechazawa]

But who will play the psychic grandpa babies?

 

[old manatee]

Awesome! He directed Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift! This movie is going to be amazing!

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

goodluck hollywood

Its crazy how good this looks.

 

[nkarafo]

goodluck hollywood

This shit is still the best 2D hand drawn animation i have ever seen. Some of the stuff in Akira would only be made by CGI today, nobody would even dare to animate some of it's scenes by hand. Which is depressing to say the least.

 

[Slaythe]

Let's hope that leads to a Japanese actor playing the lead

Spoiler

(probably not though...)

Er...

If it takes place in Tokyo, yes !

If they adapt the script to take place in America, might as well not -_- .

 

[Ridley327]

I wonder which executive at WB keeps trying to make this happen. Those rights must have cost an arm and a leg to keep it up for this long.

 

[120v]

this is like the duke nukem forever of hollywood

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

I feel like a good 90% (pulling statistics from my arse) of Akira's appeal is from its amazing animation. I'm not sure people care about a live action adaptation at all.

 

[darkwing-buck]

I'd prefer a full length version of, "Bartkira"

 

[Window]

I feel like a good 90% (pulling statistics from my arse) of Akira's appeal is from its amazing animation. I'm not sure people care about a live action adaptation at all.

Yeah I agree.

Wonder how they can make this visually interesting. Maybe if they go down a more refined Speed Racer route (gonna get a lot of hate for saying that...).

So Nolan no longer rumored to be producing? Kinda surprised with Di Caprio's name here since I though he doesn't do (act in or produce) blockbusters these days.

 

[munchie64]

Could work. I assume they're gonna need a pretty big budget to pull this off properly. Let's hope GITS does well (at least if it's good) to start that anime boom.

 

[freenudemacusers]

I feel like a good 90% (pulling statistics from my arse) of Akira's appeal is from its amazing animation. I'm not sure people care about a live action adaptation at all.

Considering the above post, you're probably right.

 

[UrbanRats]

I feel like a good 90% (pulling statistics from my arse) of Akira's appeal is from its amazing animation. I'm not sure people care about a live action adaptation at all.

That would leave only 10% for Geinoh Yamashirogumi's soundtrack, which i'd regard as one of the best of all time, along with Philip Glass' work on "Mishima: A life in four chapters".


Also, this is a bad idea of course, but just like the GitS movie, it'll be fun as a trainwreck.

 

[InfiniteBento]

America trying to dip into the anime fan pool and still failing at it.

Leave it alone, guys.

 

[Owari]

Move over, Comic Book movies. There's a new king in town, Anime movies.

Come on high budget DBZ. (But stay the fuck away, Fox.)

 

[Magwik]

Move over, Comic Book movies. There's a new king in town, Anime movies.

Come on high budget DBZ. (But stay the fuck away, Fox.)

Fox can't stay away because they legally own movie distribution rights. They will just let Toriyama do outlines for animated films.