Sci-Fi WB creating live-action Akira - Part 1

[TheVileOne]

Joseph Gordon Levitt is a known name.

 

[TheVileOne]

No idea who this guy is, but sounds reasonable.

Someone tell me something. What "KNOWN" actors are they going to cast in the Asian male lead roles? Many of whom are teenage boys.

 

[chamber-music]

I figured this akira film would not happen.

Hollywood has been trying and failing to make a like action akira for over a quarter of a century. Various directors have taken a shot only for things to breakdown.

 

[TheVileOne]

I'm not surprised. Everyone wants to make AKIRA, but no studio wants to bite the bullet and spend the budget to make it. And you know what? I think that's for the best.

AKIRA IMO is unfilmable. Why do you want to make a Hollywood version of AKIRA? It's a story that's set in Neo-Tokyo. It's about Japanese people. It's story and themes are heavily rooted in Japanese from a cultural standpoint.

Remake it with "Americans" or whites and you defeat the whole purpose.

No matter how progressive or woke Hollywood claims to be, they will always be skittish when it comes to projects like this.

Look at Ghost in the Shell and how that was treated.

 

[terry78]

WB still has AOT which could be more...palatable.

 

[Marvolo]

WB still has AOT which could be more...palatable.

Yeah I dont think this film would have been some gigantic box office profit. I doubt it would have even crossed a billion. Sure, Taiki would have made a good film, but this is a niche property to the average modern america audience. American soccer moms and teen girls and little Johnny know who Thor is. They dont know who or what Akira is. WB can just replace Alira with another good DC film or any good film based on an established property and it wont be any sort of financial loss for them.

I figured the next Thor film would be released after GOTG3. This makes me wonder if Thor will be with the Guardians in Thor 4 then leave them and wont appear in GOTG 3.

 

[Pennywise]

At least we’re supposed to get a new Akira Anime from Otomo.

 

[Roose Bolton]

WB still has AOT which could be more...palatable.

Please God no.

AoT is amazing, but Hollywood wouldn’t remotely do justice to the themes or the complexity of the story. Plus there’s the fact that the cast is 98% Germanic which wouldn’t fly in the current times.

 

[HammerDown]

I was very interested in a TW directed Akira but unfortunately it seems like it won’t happen which is a damn shame.

I also think that this looks like a strong move by Disney to keep the talent in their ranks. TW worked on Moana for Disney, Ragnarok for Marvel, The Mandalorian for Star Wars, then Jojo Rabbit for Fox Searchlight which now belongs to the Mouse as well... now Thor 4...

Disney seems very happy to have him around. And while WB blinks they snatch him back.

 

[TheVileOne]

WB still has AOT which could be more...palatable.

Attack on Titan storyline wise is set in a more fictional European setting. There are some mixed race Asian characters, but there are only a few of them, such as Mikasa. Sort of a weird discussion to have in 2019 though isn't it?

 

[Roose Bolton]

And it’s a fairly significant themeatic and plot point that everyone within the Walls is of the same race outside of Mikasa.

I’d say Fullmetal Alchemist is probably WB//Hollywood’s best bet at making a major anime work without pissing everyone off. It’s based in a Western setting with western characters, but it’s also fairly diverse in that you have major characters who are from Xing (Asia) and Ishval (Middle East). Scar, in the hands of the right actor could be a career making character.

 

[Filmfreak]

Damn that was so close this time. I was looking forward to this and don't care at all for another Thor movie. Disney seems to monopolise everything these days and it's not even funny anymore.

 

[Lencho01]

For me Akira is like in the same category of John Carter in that much of what they have to show has been seen elsewhere in other properties due to the age of the story. So, I’m just curious how they market this film. I can see how casting can be used to help with that.

I'm still sticking with this feeling.

And I wonder what counts as "known" and "unknown" for these people if that really was an issue.

 

[Infinity9999x]

So I’ve only seen the film and haven’t read the Manga...but honestly, I wasn’t all that excited about Akira anyway. The film is beautiful, but I felt like it needed a lot of fleshing out of its main characters. I never cared about any of them, because they had very little development in the film. So I mostly watched it for the gorgeous visuals.

I feel like a limited series is a better fit. Flesh the story out more and do it there.

 

[MbJ]

No idea who this guy is, but sounds reasonable.

Deadline reported the same thing.

The project had been on the rocks for weeks, with word in town that it is a difficult film to cast ethnically at its high budget, in this moment of political correctness.

The Exodus "I can't get this film financed with a bunch of unknown Arab actors" excuse, sounds like.

Honestly, if they weren't willing to do it right, probably best to just let this one die.

 

[terry78]

They kinda look iffy after that Mulan teaser tho. Regardless of how accurate it is to the cartoon version or the original tale, Disney went all out and was like, we making this thing more Asian than the bay area.

 

[Pennywise]

The trades say WB still want Taika to make this but if the film had this many issues, I don’t think he’ll come back.

Collider said WB were pleased with his vision. Yeah, right!

 

[Roose Bolton]

They kinda look iffy after that Mulan teaser tho. Regardless of how accurate it is to the cartoon version or the original tale, Disney went all out and was like, we making this thing more Asian than the bay area.

Difference is, Mulan is family friendly movie that will probably appeal to the widest possible audience and likely rake in a boat load of Chinese cash. That’s forgetting about merchandising.

Akira is an R rated dystopian future with heavy psychological and body horror elements that would require a budget on par with the best of the Star Wars/DC/Marvel pictures of today. Unlike those films however, this really isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Obviously I’d like them to take the chance, but I can see the logic behind their trepidation and why something like Mulan is a different kettle of fish.

 

[MbJ]

I definitely get the trepidation and why they'd want big name stars attached given the budget. The problem is we've seen this logic before play out with Ghost in the Shell and the aforementioned Exodus, and not only did those movies ultimately still lose money, but also got months of unflattering controversy and negative publicity that they could have avoided.

I don't think there's any easy answer here. This is a movie that's gonna be a risk no matter what they do, which is part of the reason why I've been puzzled by the insistence on making this movie. They've been trying for years at this point, but it's a lot riskier than your average superhero blockbuster.

 

[dark_b]

If this was a story from china they wouldnt have problem with casting. how will they market a japan story in china hehe

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Difference is, Mulan is family friendly movie that will probably appeal to the widest possible audience and likely rake in a boat load of Chinese cash. That’s forgetting about merchandising.

Akira is an R rated dystopian future with heavy psychological and body horror elements that would require a budget on par with the best of the Star Wars/DC/Marvel pictures of today. Unlike those films however, this really isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Obviously I’d like them to take the chance, but I can see the logic behind their trepidation and why something like Mulan is a different kettle of fish.

Even taking away the Japanese element, it would still be a tough sell. They couldn't even get audiences to Blade Runner which got fantastic reviews and acclaim and was set in Los Angeles with white Canadian/American stars like Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford.

 

[Infinity9999x]

I really think a limited series is the best bet for this franchise. It needs more room to develop the characters, otherwise I really don’t see western audiences connections to it.

 

[terry78]

Netflix can afford it but the question is would they be willing to. They dont want another Marco Polo.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Netflix can afford it but the question is would they be willing to. They dont want another Marco Polo.

True. And honestly, I’m not sure if it would connect all that well given extra time. I need to read the manga, but in the film the characters felt like afterthoughts to the admittedly gorgeous art direction. And it’s a weird story...but I do think there’s a way to make it work. It’s a definite risk though.

 

[Da-Scribe]

I think the Kaneda/Tetsuo relationship is a great emotional anchor in the anime. Kaneda has sorta always been taking care of Tetsuo since they were kids and once Tetsuo gets his powers, it's his shot at independence.

At any rate, I still don't believe this film is that big of a risk. And I don't believe WB was trying to whitewash the film either. They've seen previous attempts like that fail and saw the success of their own Crazy Rich Asians. My guess though is that Taika likely wanted Japanese unknowns and WB wanted to expand it to all Asians, but probably court more known talent. I'm not saying known as in A-List, but folks you've seen before like a Ryan Potter or Remy Hii. That probably also meant skewing older in the casting and I'm willing to bet Taika wanted a stricter age range (Remy is in his 30s and still playing a high schooler lol).