In July it was announced that Taika Waititi’s hotly anticipated remake of acclaimed anime Akira was on hold while the director turned his attention to Thor 4. Now, the filmmaker has spoken out about the delay, confirming that he’ll still be working on the adaption.
In a recent interview with IGN, Waititi said: “Because we’ve been working really on the (Akira) script, we had to keep pushing the start date for the shoot. We ended up having to push it a couple weeks too far, which actually ate into the Thor schedule, because they were very close together.”
Revealing when fans could expect the remake, the director continued: “My first commitment was to Marvel to make that film, so now I’ve had to take Akira and shift it around to the tail-end of Thor and move it down a couple of years.”
The film was originally meant to start production in July, with a release date of May 21, 2021. While we may have to wait a few more years, at least Waititi has confirmed he’ll still be at the helm. There’s no update on whether those previously announced – including production by Leonardo DiCaprio – are still on board.
Originally published in manga anthology mag Young Magazine, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira achieved global notoriety when released as a film in 1988. A cyberpunk story of biker gangs and government experiments, the movie is credited with bringing anime to a western audience.
Waititi’s adaption will reportedly draw from the original books, as opposed to the 80s film, with the director determined to cast Asian teenagers for the primary roles.
Look back at everything we know so far about the Akira remake here.