Akira still lives?

A live-action remake of the anime AKIRA (itself based on a long-running manga series) was in the works a few years ago, with BLADE guy Stephen Norrington in the director seat. But Norrington seemingly got fed up with Hollywood after LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and disappeared into the mists, and the AKIRA film was quietly slid back into cold storage.

Until now, apparently. Bloody-Disgusting says that the sci-fi flick is being taken out of mothballs again, and has a hot young relatively unknown director attached. Oscar-nominated Irish director Ruairi Robinson will reportedly tune up Kaneda’s superbike and bring Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s post-apocalyptic vision to full fleshy motion. Robinson landed the position based on his impressive short film “The Silent City”, which you can see at B-D.

For those who haven’t seen the original, the futuristic AKIRA follows a street gang of pill-popping teenage troublemakers who ride tricked-out motorcycles, fight with rivals and generally shout a lot. The gang leader’s best friend gets involved in a government experiment and develops psychic powers, bringing the two together in a bloody, gloriously destructive clash.