A while back we reported that Warners had found a new director for their Akira remake, but the long gestating project hadn’t gotten a green light. Today, Variety tells us that the studio has given the project a go ahead, and production will begin early next year.
“Set in New Manhattan, the cyberpunk sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experiments.” says the paper, and that does indeed sound akin to the Akira we all know and love, but only just.
The live action remake has had fans on edge for years now, with many assuming it wouldn’t be film-able and others arguing that the original anime is too out there and bizarre to work with American audiences unless some edges are sanded down.
It seems the sanding down has already begun. Garrett Hedlund, star of last year’s Tron: Legacy is up for the lead role, and he has about as much screen presence as a piece of toast. So it seems producers aren’t keen on crafting a daring film but rather something safe, manageable, and easy to swallow.
We’ll keep you posted as the story develops.
Oh, this movie is one of the only ‘American remakes of an Asian movie’ that I’m actually looking forward too!
And I absolutely love Garrett Hedlund. He’s such a talented young actor. Could be quite interesting!