Live-Action ‘Akira’ Adaptation Scores New Screenwriter, Studio Is ‘Really Enthusiastic About It’

A live-action "Akira" film is on the way courtesy of director Albert Hughes ("From Hell," "The Book of Eli") and newly hired screenwriter Albert Torres. According to producer Andrew Lanzar, the first film will cover the first three of Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" manga volumes, with a hopeful sequel set to cover the next three volumes.

"'Akira' happens to be something that Warner Brothers management loves," Lanzar told Collider. "They see the value in the title. They see the value in the franchise, and what the underlying property meant. It's a pretty seminal piece. And so they think that, with a guy who is a visionary director like Albert Hughes, it's not pushing a boulder up the hill for 'Akira' because, quite frankly, the studio is really enthusiastic about it."An "Akira" film, especially an Americanized film, is something that's undoubtedly going to cause some fear amongst fans of the franchise. I'm not overly optimistic about the movie's chances, but I'm going to go ahead and adopt the same philosophy I took towards Michael Bay's "Transformers" adaptation back in 2008 - if the movie sucks, which is a very real possibility, I'll always have the original anime and manga series to look back on.

Then again, "Akira" isn't one of those properties I feel supremely protective over, so let's hear from those of you who are huge "Akira" fans. What are some of your big concerns over the developing live-action adaptation?

[Via Collider]