Former ‘Akira’ screenwriter Gary Whitta who worked on the preliminary script has spilled the beans on the live-action adaptation which may surprise many anime fans.
According to Whitta at a press event, he admitted that his script was stretched beyond the scope of the previous animated “Akira” movie and encompassed many parts from the entire six-volume manga series.
“The version I worked on was about going back to the source and doing the manga version,” said Whitta at a press event. “We were going to adapt the whole six-episode graphic novel.”
Since Whitta’s stab at the adaptation, “Iron Man” screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have inherited the project at Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company.
Although Whitta isn’t privy to whether Fergus and Ostby are reediting his original script or starting from scratch, it was interesting to hear how ambitious the original script was. One can only hope that this much research and dedication is put into the new draft because it’d be the only way to do “Akira” justice.