It sounded like the live-action adaptation of Akira was dead in the water. Albert Hughes bailed on the project earlier this summer and a concept designer recently spoke out on the “horrific” early pre-production process. A new report from ShowBlitz/Variety clue us in that Warner Bros. isn’t canning the project at all, rather just signing a new director to helm the big-budget epic based on the original graphic novel by Katsuhiro Otomo.
The man that will take this job is Jaume Collet-Serra, who recently helmed Orphan and Unknown. He has officially closed a deal to direct the the film. Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves has written the latest draft and the film is “being reenvisioned as a $90 million tentpole” under the guidance of Otomo as executive producer. I may be one of the few people in the world that think Collet-Serra is quite talented. He showed full control over his story and a quite a bit of flourishes in Unknown.
After recently watching Akira for the first time, it is a property I could see transferring to the bigscreen, but not with a $90 million budget, cut down from an earlier rumored $230 million. There are a few too many big action scenes and some massive setpieces, and just to create that world seems like it would cost that much alone. I hope they find the right cast as well, because I just don’t see Keanu Reeves fitting in the story of a “leader of a biker gang who saves his friend from a medical experiment.”
What do you think about Jaume Collet-Serra directing Akira?