The live-action remake of the 1980's manga "Akira" has been in the process of development for years now, but today, the project took a huge step forward as the film adaptation's official scriptwriter has already been revealed. Marco J. Ramirez, showrunner for Marvel's "Daredevil" Season 2, has been entrusted to take the writing duties for the long-awaited film.
Cinema Blend reports that Warner Bros. and Marco J. Ramirez, who is currently working on "Daredevil" with co-writer Doug Petrie, agreed to a deal of bringing "Akira" to the silver screen. The studio's plan for the film may have taken a long time to be developed but with Ramirez on board to pen the movie and Andrew Lazar ("American Sniper") and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way producing, it is expected for the film to start its production soon.
The original manga, as per Entertainment Weekly's report, was penned by Katsuhiro Otomo and was first introduced in 1980s. Set in post-apocalyptic neo-Tokyo, the series tells the story of how a secret government turns two gang members against each other against a background of war.
Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the manga in 2008. While the adaptation has involved a lot of writers, filmmakers and actors, the closest it came to hitting the big screen was when a few actors were involved in initial stages of dealmaking in 2012 which included Garrett Hedlund ("Tron Legacy", "Pan"), Kristen Stewart ("Twilight", "Snow White and the Huntsman", Ken Watanabe ("Godzilla", "Inception") and Helena Bonham Carter ("Harry Potter", "Cinderella").
Jaume Collet-Sera ("Orphan", "House of Wax"), according to The Hollywood Reporter, was to direct "Akira" when the studio pulled out its production because of casting, script and budget issues.
Now that Ramirez has officially boarded the project, quick progress is already expected from the film's production. Ramirez, repped by UTA, is known well in the field of scriptwriting having worked with the crime drama series "Sons of Anarchy", the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black" and Da Vinci's "Demons".
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