AKIRA Remake Will Not Die - Jonathan Nolan and Michael Pitt Sought
The Akira remake just will not die! Earlier we reported that Warner Bros. put Jaume Collet-Serra's film on hold because of a bloated budget. Variety is reporting that the film refuses to die. The word is that the studio is set to hire another new writer to do rewrites “over the next two weeks to focus on character elements and particularly on the pic’s look.” The studio has two writers in mind for the job - Jonathan Nolan (Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises) or Michael Green (Heroes, Smallville, Green Lantern).
So far, Garret Hedlund is the only official star set to join the film. Kristen Stewart and Ken Watanabe have both been circling the film, but deals have not been made official. Variety has some news on the possible casting of the second lead, Tetsuo. The producers are starting to zero in on Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) and Dane DeHaan (Wettest County, The Place Beyond the Pines).
I am not a huge Manga fan, so I am fine with an "Americanized story set in a post-apocalyptic New Manhattan." This does not even seem like it will be the same story as the original. If they want to put a bow on it and call it Akira, that is fine with me. What are your thoughts?