After the success of Alita Battle Angel, it would only be natural for Hollywood to follow the leader as usual and look for more anime and manga they can bring to the big screen. For years various directors have planned to adapt Katsuhiro Otomo's legendary cyberpunk manga, but it's never seemed to work out due to fears of whitewashing or messing with the source material. In 2019, the same year in which the original story takes place, plans have finally arisen for a live action Akira.

Taika Waititi, known for What We Do in the Shadows and Thor: Ragnarok, will purporedly be directing, while producing duties will be done by Andrer Lazar and none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. With regards to authenticity, Waititi claims to be a diehard fan of the original and claimed in 2017 that he'd want to retain the original ethnicities of the characters. Filming for the city of Neo-Tokyo will take place in California according to the California Film Commission and has earned $18.5 million in tax credits. 

It's worth keeping in mind that Warner Bros. have not yet greenlit the project, so there's a chance it might not go through in the end. If it does it'll have some pretty big shoes to fill, seeing as the 1988 movie is often cited as the greatest animated movie of all time. I'm also hoping Kanye West gets involved in the project, since it is his favorite movie after all. Akira was also referenced in the cultural hodgepodge known as Ready Player One and its concept of a shady government facility creating children with extrasensory powers inspired a similar setup in Stranger Things, one of the few plot points not taken from a Stephen King work.

Would you watch a live action Akira? Drop your thoughts below.