Warner Bros. has revealed that their upcoming live-action feature Akira will arrive in theaters on May 21, 2021. The film will be directed by Oscar nominee Taika Waititi (Two Cars, One Night, Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit).
The movie is an adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s anime. Akira consists of six volumes and there are reportedly going to be two films, each based on three volumes. There was a Japanese animated film based on Akira back in 1988, directed by Otomo.
The movie synopsis is as follows: Set in a future city environment called New Manhattan, the sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his best friend, who has been experimented on by the government causing him to develop dangerous and destructive psychokinetic powers.
Andrew Lazar (American Sniper) and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way are producing the film, for which the studio acquired the rights back in 2008. Akira will film in California following an $18.5 million tax credit award from the California Film Commission. The Akira movie production team is expected to spend upwards of $92 million in the state of California. The movie is a passion project for Waititi, who saw the animated movie when he was a kid in the late ’80s.