Akira has been in the hands of Hollywoods more for than a decade, but it seems the project is ready to take off. Last week, fans learned Warner Bros. Pictures plans to film in California under director Taika Waititi, and it seems more details have dropped about the project.
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In fact, a preliminary summary for Akira has gone live, and fans have lots to say about it.
Recently, a brand-new issue of Production Weekly went live, and it had an update on Akira. The trade magazine released a lengthy description of the project which you can read up on below:
“When a young man’s telekinesis is discovered by the military, he is taken in to be turned into a super weapon and his brother must race to save him before Manhattan is destroyed by his powers. Kaneda is a bar owner in Neo-Manhattan who is stunned when his brother Tetsuo is abducted by Government agents lead by the Colonel. Desperate to get his brother back, Kaneda agrees to join Ky Reed and her underground movement who are intent on revealing to the world what truly happened to New York City 30 years ago when it was destroyed.
Kaneda believes their theories to be ludicrous, but after facing his brother again is shocked when he displays telekinetic powers. Ky believes Tetsuo is headed to release a young boy. Akira, who has taken control of Tetsuo’s mind, Kaneda clashes with the Colonel’s troops on his way to stop Tetsuo from releasing Akira, but arrives too late. Akira soon emerges from his prison courtesy of Tetsuo as Kaneda races to save his brother before Akira once again destroys Manhattan island as he did thirty years ago.”
The update from Production Weekly confirms director Taika Waititi will oversee Akira along with producers such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Katsuhiro Otomo. Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures will oversee the film’s creation, but all these credits cannot keep fans from being concerned. The above description reveals some major differences from Otomo’s original story, leaving audiences more concerned than ever about the long-awaited project.
So, are you interested to see how Akira goes? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
Originally created by Katsuhiro Otomo for Kodansha’s Young Magazine in 1982, Akira later inspired the equally as prolific 1988 animated film, which Otomo himself directed. The story is set in a dystopian world following the bleak close of World War III. A gang leader known as Kaneda finds himself embroiled in a massive government operation when his best friend begins exhibiting powerful telekinetic gifts. To save his friend, Kaneda must get to the bottom of Neo Tokyo’s espers, but the lead quickly learns he is way in over his head.
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