Comedian and filmmaker Jordan Peele is in negotiations to direct the movie adaptation of Japanese graphic novel Akira.
Warner Bros. executives have been developing the live-action project on and off since 2011 and now studio bosses have approached the Get Out director to tackle the job.
Recent reports had suggested Safe House’s Daniel Espinosa and David Sandberg were frontrunners for the gig.
The movie, about two telekinetic brothers in rival biker gangs, will be based on the 1980s manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also turned it into an anime film in 1988.
Movie chiefs first acquired the rights to Otomo’s series in 2002 and first attempted to make a live-action version in 2011, with Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Ken Watanabe, and Helena Bonham Carter in talks to star. However, the project was reportedly shelved due to budget, script and casting issues.
Leonardo DiCaprio stepped in to resurrect Akira in 2015, and he recruited Daredevil’s Marco J. Ramirez to write the script. The Revenant star is still attached as a producer via his Appian Way company, and Ramirez is also still on board, according to TheWrap.com.
If Akira does move into production, it will be the latest anime film adapted for Hollywood following Scarlett Johansson’s new movie Ghost in the Shell, which is based on the Japanese graphic novel series of the same name. An anime version was also made in 1995.
Johansson’s take on the manga classic hasn’t been without controversy, with many fans criticizing director Rupert Sanders for casting the Caucasian beauty in the role of cyborg The Major – a character originally depicted as Asian in the source material.
Ghost in the Shell hits cinemas in America this weekend (beg31Mar17).
