Taika Waititi's Akira adaptation is no more; Warner Bros lets go of the movie rights, starting a new bidding war
Akira, the iconic 1982 manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo that was adapted into a cult classic 1988 anime film, has been struggling to get a Hollywood live-action adaptation off the ground for decades. The process has faced another setback with Warner Bros relinquishing the film rights, effectively killing Taika Waititi's attempt to adapt the series.
After the 1988 film's smash success, Hollywood was quick to take an interest in Katsuhiro Otomo's intellectual property, with Warner Bros acquiring the rights from Sony Pictures in 2002 and making multiple attempts at getting a film off the ground. The most recent of these was Taika Waititi's, with him wanting to remain faithful to the original manga plotline and cast Asian-American actors in the leading roles.
Akira adaptation rights revert to Kodansha
Taika Waititi's live action #Akira film is no longer happening Warner Bros has lost the rights (via @THR) pic.twitter.com/zPIiRjKGGS
With Warner Bros relinquishing Akira's film rights, they've reverted back to the manga's publisher, Kodansha. This has, per the Hollywood reporter, caught the attention of several Hollywood studios and streaming services aiming to acquire the rights for themselves.
The original manga's plotline followed Tetsuo, a teenager in post-apocalyptic Tokyo who's part of a biker gang with his childhood friend and gang leader Kaneda. Tetsuo discovers he has world-ending telekinesis abilities, which brings him to Kaneda's attention as he ropes Tetsuo into his own schemes.
Akira's Hollywood adaptation has had a troubled history
Akira (1988) pic.twitter.com/ZFNlTZ1Us5
While there have been several ambitious attempts at getting an Akira Hollywood adaptation off the ground, none have truly taken off. After Warner Bros acquired the film rights to Akira in 2002, the studio hired several directors to work on the Akira adaptation, with none of them sticking around long enough to see the project to its completion.
Stephen Norrington was the first director hired by Warner Bros, but he ultimately fell out of favor after his 2003 release The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bombed both critically and commercially.
Next came Ruari Robinson, who planned to split Akira into two films so that he could cover the entire manga's storyline. He would've changed the story's location to New York and prominently featured Asian-American characters, but he eventually departed the project in 2009.
Next came the Hughes brothers, who aimed to market the film to a PG-13 audience, with them departing the project in 2011. Jaume Collet-Sera was assigned to direct the next iteration of the Akira film in October of that year, only to depart the project in 2017.
Taika Waititi was the last director to attempt an Akira adaptation under the aegis of Warner Bros, with him being confirmed as a director in 2019. However, Waititi's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other projects kept delaying the production until Warner Bros relinquished their rights to the IP altogether.
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