Jason Reitman, a four-time Oscar nominee, who is coming off the mixed reception to his SNL origin story “Saturday Night”, has been working behind the scenes with his frequent collaborator Gil Kenan on a live-action “Astro Boy” movie for Sony, according to The InSneider.
“Astro Boy” is a Japanese manga created and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. Debuting in 1952, it tells the story of Astro, a boy-like android endowed with human emotions, designed to replace a scientist’s deceased son. After being sold to a robot circus, Astro is saved by a professor who acts as a father figure and builds him a robotic family, allowing him to experience a more normal life.
Sources say that Sony is on the hunt for screenwriters to adapt Astro Boy into a family-friendly, all-ages movie—“four quadrants” — envisioned as a robotic take on the classic “Pinocchio” story.
Although Reitman is currently not attached to direct “Astro Boy,” he might actually take the reins, and it’ll all depend on how well the script turns out. As far we know, Reitman has no other directorial projects currently in the works.
For the better part of 2025, Reitman was actually working on an Apple TV adaptation of “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” starring Jennifer Aniston, but just days before cameras were set to roll, creative clashes ensued, and he abruptly exited the project.
Reitman truly caught the zeitgeist with 2007’s “Juno,” and peaked with 2009’s “Up in the Air,” and his filmography still has a few hidden gems. I’d recommend “Tully” and his underrated political gem “The Front Runner.” A cult following has also built up for “Young Adult” and “Thank You For Smoking.” His last film, “Saturday Night,” did not perform as well as predicted with critics and audiences.