Jordan Peele Being Courted To Direct ‘Akira’ Live Action Adaptation

‘Ghost in the Shell’ is now in theaters and with a 66% audience approval rating (45% from critics), you can bet that the movie is going to be profitable – especially in foreign markets. That means that every other anime project that can get adapted to the US live action film market is going to be made. At the top of the list is the iconic anime/ manga, ‘Akira’. The project has been in the pipe line for years, even having Leonardo DiCaprio attached to play the role of Kaneda at one point.

The Tracking Board is now reporting that Warner Bros is keen on attaching Get Out helmer Jordan Peele to the reboot. The good news is that Peele, formerly half of comedy duo Key and Peele, is a really smart guy. That hopefully means that he doesn’t bite on the hook. Look, I get that being offered a big tent pole film is really tempting, but I’ve always felt an American made Akira live action reboot is a bad idea. There’s no way that the studio would approve an all Asian cast, and they can’t get away with saying the characters look Caucasian to the extent like they tried on Ghost In The Shell. The things they’d want to do to make the film more open to audiences of all cultural backgrounds would destroy its heart.

Source: Trackingboard