Netflix’s One Piece has helped to enact a major shift when it comes to the idea of live-action anime adaptations living up to their source material. Even though the Straw Hat Pirates helped push open the door, they are far from the only anime characters brought to the real world. Franchises like Dragon Ball, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Yu Yu Hakusho, and many others have received live-action adaptations in the past, but there are quite a few that have been announced that remain in limbo. Now feels like the best time, at the height of the trend, to go over live-action anime adaptations that have yet to see the light of day.
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Hellsing
In 2021, it was announced that Derek Kolstad, screenwriter of John Wick, was working to bring Alucard to life with a live-action Hellsing movie for Amazon. Ever since, the series has remained in limbo, releasing no updates as to the prince of darkenss making his debut. When it was initially announced, Kolstad had this to say, “Ever since my brother introduced me to the Hellsing manga and anime some years ago, I’ve been obsessed with adapting it and when Mike Callaghan and his team managed to secure the rights to then partner us up with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Amazon, I mean -damn, dude- this is a dream.” Unfortunately, no news has been revealed regarding casting, a release date, or anything else aside from Kolstad’s involvement, leaving many to wonder if Alucard will ever return.
The Promised Neverland
Much like Hellsing, the children of Grace Field House were initially announced to receive a live-action adaptation of their own on Amazon. The Promised Neverland has received a live-action film in Japan but the television series made in the West has yet to be revealed. Announced in 2020, the Amazon production was slated to have Meghan Malloy produce the script, who geeky fans might know for her work on Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. The project even had a director in Rodney Rothman, who helmed projects like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and 22 Jump Street. While the official social media account for the franchise stated last year that the project was still alive, not much has been heard about the Amazon series.
Death Note
Death Note fans are already well aware of Light and Ryuuk’s many live-action adaptations over the years, with Netflix creating quite the controversial take on this world previously with a film from director Adam Wingard. Japan has seen a handful of films released to adapt the dark world, but in 2022, Netflix announced that it would be taking a crack at the anime universe once again. This next time around, the creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, were looking to make a Death Note television series and even had hired writer Halia Abdel-Meguid to create this new take. With the final season of Stranger Things in the works to release later this year, perhaps we’ll get more news once the beloved Netflix franchise has come to a close.
Naruto
Last year, many shonen fans were thrown for a loop not just thanks to Naruto finally being confirmed for a live-action adaptation, but the announcement of the creative team who was working on it. Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi: The Legend of The Ten Rings and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, announced that he was working on a new movie with Lionsgate. Cretton even went so far as to fly to Japan to get approval from Naruto’s creator Masashi Kishimoto. With work already starting on Marvel’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s next movie, it might be some time before we see the ball once again rolling on the Hidden Leaf Village live-action foray.
Attack on Titan
In 2017, it was announced that Warner Bros was working with The Flash and Stephen King’s It director Andy Muschietti to create a live-action adaptation of Attack on Titan. While Japan had created two live-action movies that presented a radically new take on Hajime Isayama, the WB project has floundered in recent years. In 2023, Muschietti confirmed that he was no longer attached to the project, with Warner Bros Discovery releasing no news on the Scout Regiment returning to the realm of live action.
My Hero Academia
In 2022, Netflix and Legendary Pictures announced that they were working in conjunction on a live-action television series adapting the story from Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia. Alongside the announcement, screenwriter Joby Harold had been slated to pen the project, perhaps best known for his work on movies like Army of The Dead, King Arthur: Legend of The Sword, and Transformers: Rise of The Beasts to name a few. Ever since the announcement, news has been practically non-existent regarding the series, and with the superhero shonen series ending with its eighth season this fall, fans might look to this live-action adaptation as a welcome return to UA Academy.
Alita: Battle Angel Sequel
We had to give props to the “Alita Army” with this one, as a sequel to Alita: Battle Angel has yet to surface. While never officially confirmed, the sequel has been addressed by director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau in recent years. On top of having plenty of avenues to take for a part two thanks to the source material, the first Battle Angel film ends on quite the cliffhanger while also introducing actor Edward Norton into the universe as well. With Cameron still working hard on the Avatar films and the film’s original director Robert Rodriguez not hinting at returning to the live-action adaptation, the question remains whether we’ll ever see this beloved world make a comeback.
Akira
Akira has been one of the most notorious examples of a live-action anime adaptation that refuses to both exist and die at the same time. Earlier this year, it was announced that after years of trying, Warner Bros was letting the rights expire so that Kodansha could reclaim them. Previously, director Taika Waititi was linked to the live-action adaptations, with more attempts than we can list here almost happening the past. With the rights reverting to the manga producers, anime fans will most likely be waiting that much longer for any live-action take on the works of Katsuhiro Otomo.
Sword Art Online
In 2017, Skydance Television announced that it was working on a live-action adaptation of one of the biggest isekai series, Sword Art Online. While it was never revealed who would be taking on the roles, Laeta Kalogridis was attached to write the series while the likes of David Ellison, Marcy Ross, and Dana Goldbert were signed on as executive producers. Even Ellison, CEO of Skydance, released a statement hyping up the project that has been in limbo for years at this point, “At Skydance we are in the business of world-building and SAO is a massive pop-culture phenomenon from which we plan to launch a full-scale and wide-ranging set of live-action franchise extensions across our business verticals, beginning with television. We look forward to working alongside Laeta, Reki Kawahara and the teams at Kadowawa and Aniplex to build out a deeply immersive new universe of SAO in an authentic way that honors its well-established fan base around the globe.”
One-Punch Man
Sony Pictures announced in 2020 that One-Punch Man was set to receive a live-action film in the West and there has been a steady stream of revelations since. Last year in fact the studio revealed that legendary creator Dan Harmon, of Community and Rick And Morty fame, was working on the movie’s script. With the movie also having director Justin Lin attached, a release date, production schedule, nor casting news has been revealed this year. With the anime’s third season arriving later this year, it might be a good time for Sony to spill some more beans when it comes to Saitama’s live-action adventure.
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