Since 2011, Warner Bros. has been developing an adaptation of the popular manga and anime ‘Akira‘. However, due to script issues, an extremely high budget, and fan outcries over the whitewashing of characters, the project has been on again off again. Late last year, it appeared that things were back on track as director Jaume Collet-Serra started working on the production again. Now, the studio has brought on the writer of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ to take a pass at the script.
Earlier this week, Dante Harper was revealed as the new scribe for ‘Akira.’ Harper was behind the very first draft of the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt sci-fi adventure back when it was still known as ‘All You Need Is Kill’. Because the spec script he wrote went through so many changes after WB purchased it for $3 million, the Writers Guild of America didn’t credit him in the final theatrical cut. Regardless, his work shows that he can handle adapting an Asian intellectual property for mainstream audiences with a good amount of success since that film (with an estimated budget of $178 million) drew over $300 million at the box office. Collet-Serra has been working hard to cut costs as much as he can, but with a name like Harper’s attached to the production, the studio might possibly feel better about taking the plunge on the long-gestating big budget live action anime adaptation.
With a writer and a director now hard at work on ‘Akira’ again, are you excited to finally see Warner Bros’ version of the beloved Katsuhiro Otomo manga and 1988 anime? After seeing ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, do you think that Dante Harper is the right person to rework the troubled film? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Deadline
