Fans of the Japanese Anime/Manga classic ‘Akira’ continue to cringe as more and more news comes out about the US live action adaptation on the way from Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way.

General fan consensus is that the movie will both suck and blow at the same time, but it appears that some new interesting news might change those feelings.

It turns out that the first leaks of pages from the casting script were from an early draft that has since been rewritten by Steve Kloves, of the Harry Potter series. The first news that we can happily report is that it seems that they are working hard to include more material from the Manga and not just from the anime.

We’ve got more to say, but if you don’t want any spoilers, you’d best stop reading now.

1. The movie, which is will be based in America, not Japan will be in Neo-Manhattan instead of Neo-Tokyo.

2. Kaneda and Tetsuo are brothers in this version of the story.

3. In this version, Kaneda Meets Kei in jail.

– Here’s a snippet of dialogue:
” Honey, we’re both behind bars. And while you’re a real treat to look at, I’ve got a ‘no crazy girl’ policy. So good luck with your quest. I’m sure you’ll find Akira hiding out with the Easter Bunny and Santa someplace.”

– Ouch… let’s hope this isn’t the final draft.

4. A lot of the material about drugs and Jesus make it into the film from the original anime.

Overall, it’s a mixed bag of good and bad news. For now, all we can do is hope that they will get it right in the end…. but come on… we all know they are going to screw the pooch.

Source: io9