Earlier this summer it was reported that director Ruairi Robinson had left the live action adaptation of Akira, and that the project was dead. Fans had been waiting for Akira to get off the ground for years. Now, Collider.com is now reporting that Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Iron Man, Children of Men) are about to submit a script. The project has been kept secret as they have been working on getting the script "just right". If Warner Bros. likes the script, they could go into production next year for a 2011 release. The Warner Brothers execs are said to be excited about the ambitious project.


This could be good news because the scribes behind Children of Men and Iron Man are obviously talented at working with rich material. Akira is no easy property to handle, the original 1986 anime was made by Katsuhiro Otomo based off the original 2,182-page manga epic. It should be interesting to see what they can come up with but CGI and film technique should allow for a incredible Akira to be produced.

Akira is a bit like a Japanese Road Warrior, although that's definitely selling it short. Akira is largely responsible for the Anime invasion that hit the United States in the early 1990's. At the time it was called "Japanimation" which I must admit I thought had a much catchier name. Should be an interesting movie project to keep an eye on.