According to Variety, the long suffering and controversial-before-even-finishing-the-casting-process remake of Katsuhiro Otomo‘s animated adaptation of his epic manga Akira, is back on track at Warner Bros. On the one hand, Otomo himself is one of the movie’s executive producers. On the other, Variety says that Garrett Hedlund, of Tron and Troy fame, is a front runner for either Tetsuo or Kaneda.
Many fans were incensed last time around at Warner Bros. apparent willingness to ignore Akira‘s origin as a distinctly Japanese work of art with a distinctly Japanese setting, an excellent opportunity to bring some diversity to American cinema by casting Japanese, or at the very least Asian actors in the movie’s lead roles.
I’m not going to argue that casting was the only problem that the movie adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender had at release… but you’d think that a movie studio would have learned to hesitate from alienating the devoted fans of the property it is adapting by ignoring the cultural foundation on which the property was built.
But I digress: Jaume Collet-Serra is set to direct; his previous credits include Orphan, House of Wax, and Unknown. Also the movie’s budget has been cut from more than $100 million to $90 million. Leonardo DiCaprio is also a producer.
Live action Akira, one process of adaptation that’s clearly seeking to answer the question “Which is worse? Body horror, or fear of the unknown?”
(via Geek Files.)
- Reports of Akira‘s Death Were Greatly Exaggerated
- Akira Production Halted; Keanu Reeves Off Project
- Akira Casting Hopefuls Include Only White Dudes
