Waititi reassured critics that the film would not be whitewashed
Leonardo DiCaprio will produce Taika Waititi’s live-action remake of Akira.
Deadline reports that Leonardo DiCaprio will produce the live-action film adaptation of Akira.
According to the California Film Commission, the adaptation has been in the works since 2008.
Last year, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi confirmed that he was approached to direct the 1998 anime adaptation. At the time, he reassured critics that the film would not be whitewashed.
However, although the original anime was set in Tokyo, the film-adaptation will be entirely shot in California, bringing $92 million to the state.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to shoot Akira in California,” said Ravi Mehta, Warner Bros. “The availability of top-notch crew members, plus the wide variety of location choices and predictable weather are second to none.”
The 1998 Japanese animated film was set in a dystopian 2019 and follows the story of biker gang leader Shotaro Kaneda. When his childhood friend Tetsuo Shima acquires telekinetic abilities after a bike accident, Kaneda tries to save him from the government.
DiCaprio will hit the big screen alongside Brad Pitt in 26 July 2019 in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.