Live-Action Akira Moves Forward
As we reported awhile back, Warner Bros & Ruairi Robinson have signed on to create a live-action adaptation of the classic Japanese story, "Akira." The only thing is that it wont just be one movie, but rather two films that will cover the 6-part original manga. On top of that, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, will be producing it.
The setting in this version will be different from the original manga & anime movie, in that it takes place in New Manhattan after the vast destruction of World War III. However, it will still keep it's Japanese heritage in that New Manhattan is "a city rebuilt by Japanese money" & will have a Japanese aesthetic. The original took place in Neo-Tokyo, years after an explosion took place on July 16, 1988. That day in real life saw the debut of the anime movie adaptation in Japan. At that point the manga hadn't finished its run yet, so the film's plot differed a lot from the manga. This is an advantage to the live-action Hollywood version in that they have the source material in its entirety to work with.
& here's some interesting info that's hardly been reported on anywhere on the web: casting! Joseph Gordon Levitt (Tommy in 3rd Rock from the Sun; Brick) is supposedly signed on to play the main character Tetsuo (Joshua Seth in the English dub). & while DiCaprio is currently only confirmed to be producing, word has it that he'll also be playing another main character- Kaneda ( Johnny Bosch in the dub). & for those of you who might not be familiar with Director Robinson's past work, just check out this 3D animated short he did called "Fifty Percent Grey":
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