Taika Waititi's Live-Action Akira Movie EXPLAINED (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Readers, you know that live-action Akira movie Warner Brothers has been trying to make since, like, FOREVER ago?

They bought the film rights to the property back in 2002 from creator Katsuhiro Otomo

/who, despite his opinions regarding the difficulty of adapting the likes of manga to live action media, initially agreed to the deal if he could put his stamp of approval on the scenario after checking it over himself./ Akira - Forbes

And ever since Otomo sold the film rights to Warner Brothers, the movie has just been in and out of development hell

No, I’m not gonna try and follow that up with a joke; the fact that they’ve been trying to make this movie for almost 20 years is a joke in itself.

Now, you probably know about the multiple changes that were gonna be made to the initial story of the manga

Instead of the story taking place in Neo Tokyo, it was gonna be Neo Manhattan in order for it to appeal to American audiences

One of the original drafts had Tetsuo and Kaneda be brothers instead of friends, and they were gonna do away with the biker gang aspect completely

White people (pictures of Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund)

Honestly, the only thing about how it was gonna be handled that made sense to me was that  since it was an adaptation of the 6 volume manga instead of the anime movie, Akira was going to be a duology; part 1 covering volumes 1-3, and part 2 covering volumes 4-6

Y’know, until Warner Brothers has to inform production midway through that it’s gonna be a trilogy instead. Which they would never do, right? (picture of The Hobbit)

But after the countless writers and directors that were attached to the project, both rumored and confirmed

/Warner Brothers finally found its director for Akira in the form of Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi in 2017; 15 years after acquiring the rights from Otomo/ https://deadline.com/2017/09/akira-taika-waititi-director-thor-ragnarok-1202173164/

Now since it was announced, Taika has gone on record twice about the movie. 

/and while both times he talked about it, he stated that not only would it be an adaptation of the 6 volume manga series instead of the anime movie, but that he would cast Asian leads for the main roles that he could see bring the characters to life/ Akira - IGN 1 and 2

That’s when we fast forward two years later to May 24, 2019

/where not only do we get CONFIRMATION confirmation of Waititi directing Akira, but its announced that it officially has a release date of May 21, 2021, releasing the same day as the recently announced John Wick: Chapter 4, and a currently untitled Phase 4 movie from Marvel Studios/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/akira-movie-release-date-set-sets-may-2021-1213499

/and not only that, but with the announcement came a new logline, confirming that the setting for Akira will in fact be returning to Neo Tokyo instead of the Neo Manhattan one initially made for it when Warner Brothers acquired the rights./ Akira - Deadline

And while there’s no confirmation whether they’re gonna stick to the 2-film idea or expand on it, we now know at least some very important info about the movie

It’s keeping its Neo Tokyo setting

It’ll have Asian actors portraying Tetsuo, Kaneda and Kaori

It has a director who not only loves the source material, but wants to do right by it in its adaptation

It has a release date of 2021, which means production should be starting on it soon...

(Looks worried) Something’s wrong

Trust me, I’m not jinxing this at all. This is 100% me realizing how naive it would be for me to think that there isn’t an ulterior motive for them announcing a release date like this

You see, if they have a release date for the movie, then that means they have an idea on when they’re gonna start production on the film. And considering the release date for it is 2 years from now, that means -- like I said earlier -- it’s going to be pretty soon.

Part of the reason why is mostly due to Appian Way; one of the big production companies that’s been attached to the film since Warner Brothers second attempt to get it off the ground that’s half owned by Leonardo DiCaprio

/Because of the sheer size of the production, they are in a position to take advantage of a tax credit worth $18.5 million dollars for shooting 71 days worth of the film in California./ https://variety.com/2019/film/news/leonardo-dicaprio-akira-california-tax-credit-allocated-1203177829/

But in order for them to qualify for that credit, they have to start production on the film in 180 days.

So them wanting to take advantage of that tax credit could be a huge motivator as far as Warner Brothers and Appian Way wanting to get started on this project as soon as possible. The fact that they finally found a director that not only appreciates the story but wants to stay true to it as well is just icing on the cake

Personally, I just hope that this is the ONLY time my “Studio Executive Involvement” senses are gonna tingle involving this project.

I mean, yes. I absolutely know it’s not. But I can dream, god damn it.