Jordan Peele, one of Hollywood’s favorite modern horror directors, has no regrets about passing up the opportunity to make a live-action remake of Katsuhiro Otomo’s beloved anime Akira.
Peele was attached to the adaptation after the success of his 2017 directorial debut hit Get Out, which made the director a hot up-and-coming name in Hollywood. Warner Bros. then approached Peele about the Akira remake, and he reportedly seriously considered the project. However, Peele ultimately declined the offer and instead went on to make Us.
Now, Peele has opened up about his decision to decline the offer. “It’s a project I’m so passionate about,” Peele said on a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “I’m glad I didn’t do it because I feel like staying away from that, trying to interpret that IP, just set me on the path to create something new.”
Even though Peele himself doesn’t want to helm the film, he still wants to experience the live-action adaptation on the big screen.
“I want to see Neo-Tokyo,” Peele said. “I want to see an all-Japanese cast. I want to feel immersed in the world, the way of the films in the manga.”
The last we have heard of the Akira live-action remake was that Taika Waititi, the director behind Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, was co-writing the script and expected to direct. However, it’s been awhile since any new information has been released about that project, so the film may be stuck in limbo for the time being.
Otomo’s 1988 animated Akira film, based on the manga series of the same name, is one of the most celebrated anime movies ever made. It takes place in an alternate version of Tokyo, 31 years after World War III began. Now known as Neo-Tokyo, the city has been overrun with corrupt police, protestors and terrorists. After a biker gang member turns into a rampaging psychic agent of destruction, a teenager and his gang of biker friends must team up to take him down.
The cyberpunk imagery has influenced countless films and TV shows, including the recently released Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Carson Burton is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @carsonsburton.
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