Waititi has agreed to direct Warner Brothers' long-gestating AKIRA project. Waititi's plan is to go back to the graphic novel series, meaning this will likely only be the first part of the story (the 1988 anime compressed over 2,500 pages into two hours, which didn't really work well).
Most encouragingly, Waititi has apparently reversed the previous script's decision to move the action in the United States. He wants to return to a Japanese setting with Asian actors. It's unclear if Warners has agreed to that, but Waititi is a proper AKIRA fanboy (his mother took him to see it in the cinema in 1988) and his current movie credit (after the huge success of THOR: RAGNAROK and the WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS TV show) is sky-high, so he may have leveraged that. Negotiations have been going on for months, with Marvel also courting Waititi for a THOR sequel, so Waititi had a lot of power in these negotiations.
The film is now set for release on 21 May 2021.
Oops. I saw the thread and I was thinking "Oh, good, we're already getting the sequel to Battle Angel Alita".
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As well as the live-action movie for 2021, the original film is getting a 4K remaster for release next April. More excitingly, there is also going to be a brand-new TV anime which will faithfully adapt the manga to the screen. Sunrise is working with the original writer on the new show.
Wonder how they will pull off Blob Testsuo
Apparently Waititi had script concerns over AKIRA, despite Warner Brothers agreeing to completely revamp the film according to his design. So the movie was back in Neo-Tokyo and Warners had agreed to let Waititi cast the film with Japanese actors. However, the script wasn't ready for the pre-production period which would have had to have begun imminently to hit the May 2021 release date.
As a result, Waititi has instead committed to THOR 4 after Marvel put a huge offer in front of him. He's taken the gamble that Warners won't make AKIRA with another director - because in thirty years they've never found another director willing to really tackle it - and will wait for him. Apparently, although Warners were a bit narked by the news he'd gone back to Marvel, they still want him to direct so are putting AKIRA on hold and will reassess with Waititi once THOR is done.
My guess is that Waititi will work on the script in the meantime.
The release schedule for THOR 4 is likely to become clearer at the Comic-Con Marvel panel this weekend, where the Phase 4 release schedule should be confirmed. That will also let us know when AKIRA is likely to get back on track.
I hope with Thor 4, Waititi pulls from more of Jason Aaron's run. I'd like to see the God Storm and the reforging of Mjolnir.
Pan, I think you meant Akira...
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No I meant too bad about another Thor flick while something new and refreshing is shelved.
A remake of a 36-year-old property which is already being remade in a different medium is not exactly new and refreshing. Although I would still love to see Taititi's take on AKIRA.
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No I meant too bad about another Thor flick while something new and refreshing is shelved.A remake of a 36-year-old property which is already being remade in a different medium is not exactly new and refreshing. Although I would still love to see Taititi's take on AKIRA.
The remake with an all Asian cast of Akira would be way more refreshing than yet another Marvel movie. Clearly, y'alls miles vary on that.
Yes because I'm a Than fan through and through before I go anime. Even one as cool as Akira which I can wait a little longer on.