It’s been a long time coming but we finally have a release date on the Akira live action film. Akira will make its long-awaited debut on May 21, 2021, which happens to be the exact same day as the 4th chapter of the John Wick saga. The film will be directed by Taika Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi is excited about the film and goes on to say
“What I wanted to do was an adaptation of the books, ’cos a lot of people are like, ‘Don’t touch that film!’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not remaking the film, I want to go back to the book,’” Waititi told Dazed. “A lot of the people freaking out haven’t even read the books, and there are six gigantic books to go through. It’s so rich.”
As we all know Hollywood has a poor history when it comes to live action adaptations of anime and manga. Must we recall the infamous films Dragon Ball Evolution and Netflix’s Death Note? Hopefully, Waititi will change the fans’ outlook when it comes to Hollywood and anime films. I mean look at Detective Pikachu, there is hope over the horizon. If you haven’t heard of Akira before, here is a brief synopsis from Funimation:
“Clandestine army activities threaten the war-torn city of Neo-Tokyo when a mysterious child with powerful psychic abilities escapes his prison and inadvertently draws a violent motorcycle gang into a heinous web of experimentation. As a result, a biker with a twisted mind embarks on a path of war, seeking revenge against a society that once called him weak.”
Source: Theverge
