The brothers are reportedly finalizing a deal to direct the long-discussed live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga Akira. Originally rumored in 2008 to be a two-part film directed by Ruairi Robinson, the films were put off by the WGA strike, then the scripts took forever to crack and the project was reported dead. In September of last year the Akira remake was said to be alive and well, and that brings us to this point.
This from Vulture:
"Vulture has learned that Warner Bros. is negotiating to reteam with The Book of Eli's Hughes brothers to have them direct a live-action remake of the cult favorite Akira, from a script by Iron Man scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. (Akira is being produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's company, Appian Way, along with Andrew Lazar, who’s also currently producing an adaptation of DC Comics’ Jonah Hex for Warners.)"
They also say that Warners won’t proceed with a single, live-action remake of the film, which trimmed away the last half of the 2,182-page story in order to weigh in at just over two hours. Instead, they reckon the studio is planning to keep the original 2 movie idea, with the first three volumes of the six-volume manga making up the first film, due out next year. All we know so far about the plans for the remake is that its shifting the action from Neo-Tokyo to New Manhattan and will most likely feature a Western cast too.
Personally I'm not sure these boys are the best directors for this one.
Eli was an extreme bore by the end, and felt like I was sitting through a sermon disguised as an action/sci fi flick. They do have a good eye though. I they get this gig I really hope they do Otomo's story justice. The shift in location and Americanization of the story is something I can live with, as long as they are true to the characters and somehow pay homage to
Akira's Japanese roots.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.