Akira. The very name is probably enough to start some Warner Bros. executives weeping into their hands after years of torturous development that has so far yielded a lot of script drafts, plenty of fantasy casting and even some director interest, but no actual movies. Now – while this is strictly confined to rumour territory – Den Of Geek has heard that the studio might be going all in on the project and plotting a potential trilogy.
Yes, despite all the trouble it has had getting anything in gear on the adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s genre-smashing anime, Warners has toughed it out, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way still aboard to produce however many films do finally emerge.
The last word on the film was in June of this year, when Sons Of Anarchy veteran and current Daredevil co-showrunner Marco J. Ramirez was writing a script. And while making a trilogy – if that is truly the plan – feels a little like putting the advanced motorcycle before the horse, it’s not the most outrageous proposition in this franchise-happy era. Plus, spreading the sprawling story across three films would give the concept space to breathe.
So how does Christopher Nolan fit into all of this? There’s no word on exactly how he might be involved, though the Geek team has reportedly heard that he recently met with someone who had been attached to the film before (that list includes Jaume Collet-Serra and Albert Hughes) to talk about it. And he does have a big mystery film on Warner Bros. slate for 2017... It’s all too easy to give into speculation like that – for all we know, Nolan is simply aiming to be a producer on the project and help shepherd things through the way he did with Man Of Steel. For now, though, it’s just fun to ponder the possibilities.