Bloody Disgusting (caution-site has mature content) is reporting that the Live Action Akira Film, which was to involve Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Brothers has been canceled:
‘Akira’ Project is Dead as a Doornail: Sad news comes in this weekend as we have learned that not only has Robinson left the project, but Tetsuo and Kaneda’s adventure is “dead as a doornail,” a report we’ve confirmed with two separate sources. I can only hope it gets revived in the near future as this could have been one of the coolest effin’ movies ever…Continue Reading at BD.com
Special thanks to Slash Film.
it would have been awful anyway
Indeed. With Neo Tokyo called New Manhattan and god know what other transformations, this would have been another one of those “americanized” movies, brainwashed and easy to digest. What bothers me the most is that the producers of this DEAD (thank you) movie considered that the only way to present another culture is through massive transformation (Akira would have been only a name in the beginning of the movie). Cant north American people digest another culture like it is? One of the coolest movies ever? I don’t think so. Maybe from the perspective of someone who doesn’t care about anime and who doesn’t care about Akira. From my perspective, it should have been called “Leo and Warner hit Japan”.
Why is there a need to turn animation into live action films? Didn’t Hollywood see what happened with Dragonball? Some things are better left alone!
Not sure whether to be happy or upset at this news… was the potential cast ever mentioned?
I do kind of hope that in a few months I’m reading a similar article on the WB Death Note movie, however.