A proposed live-action remake of the animated cyberpunk classic “Akira” has been rumored for more than ten years now. It’s the kind of project that has jumped from director to director.
The latest filmmaker to take a crack at it has been Taika Waititi, who would direct based on a script he co-wrote with Michael Golamco. A Golamco-written draft was submitted in 2023, and then a new writer, Charles Wu, came on-board and submitted a new draft in early 2024. We haven’t heard much of an update since then.
Its producer, Andrew Lazar, is now saying that the film is happening, and that we should “expect an update about it in the next couple of months.”
In 2017, it was announced that Waititi would direct “Akira” with an all Asian-American teenage cast set to play the lead roles. Waititi wanted to avoid all of the problematic whitewashing debates that might arise.
Filming was scheduled to take place in July 2019, but then “Thor: Love and Thunder” happened, and Waititi put “Akira” on the back burner. Suddenly, in August 2021, Waititi confirmed that he still intended to make the film, and that commitment has only intensified these past few years.
Waititi currently has seven projects in development, including “The Incal,” “Flash Gordon,” “James,” and “Star Wars,” but “Akira” seems to be the main priority at the moment. We’ll probably learn more about it when Waititi does press for his fall-bound “Klara and the Sun,” starring Jenna Ortega.
“Akira,” released in 1988, is a landmark in animation, credited with revolutionizing anime and introducing it to mainstream Western audiences. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, the film stunned viewers with its groundbreaking hand-drawn visuals, dystopian cyberpunk aesthetic, and mature, complex themes. Its influence can be seen across decades of film, and “The Matrix” wouldn’t exist without it.