‘Akira’: Warner Bros. Eyeing ‘Get Out’ Helmer Jordan Peele to Direct Long-Planned Remake — Report
Fresh off his mega-successful directorial debut, “Get Out,” Jordan Peele is now been courted by Warner Bros. to helm the live-action adaptation of the iconic cyberpunk manga “Akira,” as reported by The Tracking Board. According to the site, the studio is moving “aggressively” to seal the deal with the comedian-turned-filmmaker, and the talks seem “encouraging.”
Set in a dystopian version of Tokyo called Neo-Tokyo, “Akira” centers around two teenage bikers, Tetsuo and Kaneda, whose lives change dramatically after Tetsuo realizes he has psychic powers. Fearing that the city will be hit with another catastrophic psychic explosion, a government agency goes after Tetsuo, all the while fearing the monstrous power of the mysterious Akira.
READ MORE: ‘Get Out’ Is the First of Many ‘Social Thrillers’ Jordan Peele Has Planned
The Warner Bros. remake of Katsuhiro Otomo’s anime has had its share of problems for years.
WB was hoping that production would finally start in the spring of 2014, with Jaume Collet-Serra (“Unknown”) as director and Garrett Hedlund, who had been attached to the project for years, as the male lead Kaneda. But again, production came to a halt. Last year, it was reported that Justin Lin (“Star Trek Beyond”) was in talks with the studio to helm the film, but the conversations also fell through. “Akira” is being produced by Leonardo Dicaprio’s Appian Way Productions and Andrew Lazar (“American “Sniper”).
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