Warner Brothers is reportedly talking to “The Book of Eli” directors Albert and Allen Hughes about helming the upcoming live-action version of “Akira.”
The Hughes brothers would direct a script by Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby, who worked on “Iron Man” with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way producing the movie.
“Akira,” written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, takes place in the post-apocalyptic city of Neo-Tokyo and focuses on a biker gang led by the charismatic Kaneda. His best friend is Tetsuo, a man that develops psychic abilities and rapidly loses hold of his sanity. As Tetsuo’s powers grow deadlier and deadlier, Kaneda is forced to face the reality that he must put a stop to his closest friend, even if that means killing him.
The story was adapted as a 1988 anime, though that version of the story shaved off a significant amount of the manga’s events. The original manga version runs over 2000 pages and according to reports, Warner Brothers may be willing to sign on for two movies for adapt the storyline for the silver screen.
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