Jordan Peele is one of the hottest directors in Hollywood after the unprecedented success of his horror thriller Get Out.
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And while he could have taken the helm of one of the most anticipated big-budget adaptations of a beloved property from Warner Bros., Peele decided to go in a different direction and continue making his own personal films.
Reports hit that Warner Bros. was hoping for Peele to hop on their adaptation of Akira, the classic ’80s manga and anime movie. But Peele went with Universal and Blumhouse to bring another one of his own creations to life.
Now the director spoke with Blumhouse about why he decided not to take on the project while promoting the Blu-ray and DVD release of Get Out.
“I think [I could do it] if the story justifies it,” Peele said. “AKIRA is one of my favorite movies, and I think obviously the story justifies as big a budget as you can possibly dream of. But the real question for me is: Do I want to do pre-existing material, or do I want to do original content? At the end of the day, I want to do original stuff.”
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Peele previously stated that he’s unlikely to ever direct a big-budget superhero film for similar reasons, and if the siren’s song of Akira can’t sway him to such a production then we’re not likely to see him on a huge shoot any time soon.
Universal has a first-look deal with the director, and he’s already stated his intention to continue creating different kinds of thrillers.
While some might be sad that the inventive visionary will not be lending his talents to the plagued production of Akira and finally get that film off of the ground, it’s exciting to see Peele committed to bringing his unique ideas to life.
Get Out is now available on Digital HD and will be out on Blu-ray and DVD May 23.
MORE: WB Wants Get Out Director Jordan Peele To Helm Akira / Warner Bros. Reportedly Eyeing New Directors For Live-Action Akira Film / George Miller Turned Down Akira For WB / Akira Live-Action Film Test Footage
Akira (1988) – Neo-Tokyo, 2019. The city is well on the way to rebuilding after World War III. The central characters, Kaneda and Tetsuo, two high school drop-outs, are members of a joy-riding motorcycle gang. In the opening scene, Kaneda and Tetsuo stumble upon a secret government project to develop telekinetic humans, apparently for use as weapons. Tetsuo learns of the existence of his ‘peer’ Akira, the project’s most powerful subject, and determines to challenge him…
