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Opening Scene Storyboards For WB's Live-Action AKIRA Remake

Warner Bros. live-action version of Akira was shelved due to budget concerns. Now you can take a look at Jeffrey Errico's unused storyboards for the opening title sequence.

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By nailbiter111 - 9/9/2012


For years Warner Bros. has unsuccessfully tried to adapt Katsuhiro Ohtomo's Akira for a Hollywood. Last we knew, Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) was set to direct, and Garrett Hedlund was to play the lead role of Kaneda and Twilight's Kristen Stewart was to play the female lead, Ky. Things fell apart as Warner Bros. wanted to give the film's $90 million budget another $20 million haircut. Since then the film has been put on the shelf indefinitely. But we can at least check out these storyboards created by Jeffrey Errico, and watch the video below in order to compare the two. Enjoy!

Please keep in mind that these might not have been created for the Jaume Collet-Serra's version of Akira, as there was two director's attached to the project previously.

Click Images to Enlarge










Remake's Synopsis - Kaneda is a bar owner in Neo-Manhattan who is stunned when his brother, Tetsuo, is abducted by government agents led by The Colonel. Desperate to get his brother back, Kaneda agrees to join with Ky Reed and her underground movement who are intent on revealing to the world what truly happened to New York City thirty years ago when it was destroyed. Kaneda believes their theories to be ludicrous but after finding his brother again, is shocked when he displays telekinetic powers.

Ky believes Tetsuo is headed to release a young boy, Akira, who has taken control of Tetsuo’s mind. Kaneda clashes with The Colonel’s troops on his way to stop Tetsuo from releasing Akira but arrives too late. Akira soon emerges from his prison courtesy of Tetsuo as Kaneda races in to save his brother before Akira once again destroys Manhattan island, as he did thirty years ago.
Source: Jeffrey Errico
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59 Comments
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TheAmazingSpiderWill - 9/9/2012, 2:58 PM
They need to do this... Loved the original.
KNIGHT3000 - 9/9/2012, 2:59 PM
COOL! Still think they should leave it alone, or if they have to make a new 1, it should be the prequel... You know the story bout the REAL Akira in the 80's. That would be worth it.
Jollem - 9/9/2012, 2:59 PM
when pencils are outlawed, only outlaws will have pencils
marvel72 - 9/9/2012, 3:00 PM
thank f*ck it was shelved,let the japanese make it with a hollywood size budget.

f*ck americanizing it,neo manhattan f*ck off.
KNIGHT3000 - 9/9/2012, 3:01 PM
But.. I do see how they are trying to "mesh" it together
GUNSMITH - 9/9/2012, 3:04 PM
HONESTLY, WHY WOULD YOU EVEN BUY IT THEN CHANGE EVERYTHING? MAKE EVERYTHING AMERICANIZED? I'D THINK IF YOUR GOING TO DO IT BE TRUE TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL...THE CHARACTERS NAME IS AKIRA AND YOU PROBABLY WILL CAST A NOT JAPANESE GUY. IF YOU LIKE THE STORY SO MUCH DO SOMETHING SILIMAR TO IT, OTHERWISE YOUR JUST DOING A CATWOMAN AGAIN.
RedHood13 - 9/9/2012, 3:07 PM
sick
BlackFlash - 9/9/2012, 3:37 PM
@Marvel72 - I've been saying that for years. When it comes to Anime/Manga being turned into live action just leave it with the Japanese but give them a Hollywood budget. Have you seen what they can do with a budget not even half of that of most CBMs, the moment they start getting $70m-$100m for a anime movie sh!t gonna get real.
marvel72 - 9/9/2012, 3:37 PM
@ SpeedForce

its called respecting the source material,why buy the rights to something just to change everything.can you name one good anime/manga that has been made by america.

-speed racer
-dragon ball z
-blood the last vampire
-priest(korean manga)
-fist of the northstar
-the last airbender
-crying freeman

at least with the marvel anime all the characters were
actually based on the characters from the comics,i don't recall them actually changing race.
Ranger14 - 9/9/2012, 3:37 PM
So, the storyboards tell us he will be riding a motorcycle. How revealing. :-P

"Hey if everyone can get all hyped about an ancient chinese, Anime version of Batman, then why can I not get excited over an Americanized version of Akira???"

Not everyone is hyped about that version of Batman, but you have every right to get excited about this if it so floats your boat. The big difference though is this is a live adaption as opposed to an anime. I just can't get excited about an Americanized live adaption of Akira. Too much room to lose the actual culture and flavor of what Akira should be.
prettynuclear2 - 9/9/2012, 3:38 PM
The title is JAPANESE. If they want to cast white people name it "GEORGE" or something.
ArtisticErotic - 9/9/2012, 3:39 PM
Thank god that is not happening.
marvel72 - 9/9/2012, 3:44 PM
@ BlackFlash

exactly,a film like akira should have a japanese cast & crew & be set in japan.

why would cast american with a japanese name?
Vapes - 9/9/2012, 3:44 PM
This actually looks kind of cool.

Though, I'd rather they didn't whitewash it.
RobLiefeldFan - 9/9/2012, 3:48 PM
I fear there is a storm brewing between Manga/Anime and Comic Book/Cartoon Fans

marvel72 - 9/9/2012, 3:49 PM
^ for my last post "why would YOU cast AN american with a japanese name?" :P
Danbojohnj - 9/9/2012, 3:51 PM
Overrated and a bit boring,cool imagery though.
RaleighAntrobus - 9/9/2012, 3:58 PM
Nah...
Scabsallover - 9/9/2012, 4:03 PM
@Speedforce
Batman has been reimagined time and time again in various countries.
Akira is something that is known to be sacred. If you've read the books &/or are a fan of the film, you'd know why the American version should not be made. It should not be remade as something it's not. That's all. I value your opinion none-the-less.
WinterSoldier24 - 9/9/2012, 4:09 PM
AMERICA - [frick] YEAH!

goin in to save the mother[frick]ing day, yeah!

Lol. Don't know anything about it. Don't know why I'm commenting on this article. I just DON'T KNOW!!!

;P
Scabsallover - 9/9/2012, 4:11 PM
Now, if it were to focus on what was NOT in the anime, but in the manga, satirize today's social climate while not bastardizing the characters and their motivations, I'd be intrigued, but that was NOT what they had planned.
Scabsallover - 9/9/2012, 4:13 PM
@Wintersoldier24

Here's the full movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIhQsYCK-U0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
KingEmperor - 9/9/2012, 4:15 PM
Neo Manhattan. Haha. I'd rather have Japanese film makers work on this.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 9/9/2012, 4:16 PM
Wait what this was shelved???
Scabsallover - 9/9/2012, 4:17 PM
You're preaching to the choir. I'm a hardcore-batman fan too. Watch the full movie, read on the planned changes afterward.

You'll get it.

The story itself is a satire on Japan's inability to establish a military force after WW2 and what consequences that has on a nation.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 9/9/2012, 4:29 PM
To be honest,most animated characters look white.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 9/9/2012, 4:29 PM
*anime
Scabsallover - 9/9/2012, 4:30 PM
The animated movie was made in the middle of the manga run though. The series hadn't even ended yet. Anyway, I respect your perspective.
lapress - 9/9/2012, 4:47 PM
@prettynuclear2 thats freaking hilarious
AnotherSinisterClone - 9/9/2012, 4:53 PM
can someone from CBM explain the delays every page on your site is suffering from? new code, or ads? my ipad freezes for 30 seconds every page.
TankD - 9/9/2012, 5:00 PM
AH KI YA
IcemanX - 9/9/2012, 5:04 PM
awesome fan-art movie poster :D

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56561284@N05/5226982110/
animeex - 9/9/2012, 5:37 PM
Waiting to see Rurouni Kenshin made overseas. It has the characters and the same dress as the anime. I know they did Marvel anime style and I am sorry but I loved it. I liked most the art and from what I hear they do it faster and cheaper and it looks better. I like US cartoons but anime is better as far as action, story and art. Blood ands real fights... Not just pushing and throwing each other with their legs when one jumps the other. I agree with a Japanese made version with a Hollywood budget.
IIIAdamantiumIII - 9/9/2012, 5:49 PM
would love to see a proper adaptation
Tevii - 9/9/2012, 6:28 PM
If done right this couldve been awesome.
Screw anyone whining about "americanizing"
Other countries adapt our characters all the time.

Ancar - 9/9/2012, 6:35 PM
They don't need any storyboards, just follow the comics!
Nostalgic14 - 9/9/2012, 6:49 PM
I, sadly, think this storyboard looks nice and it'd look amazing and is a nice intro. However, I really don't want them to do a live-action Akira. There is no point in my opinion. And it'd affect the preservation of the original. This remake has me the most annoyed out of any I think.
SymbioteSpidey1 - 9/9/2012, 6:57 PM
oh America, stop your senseless destruction of anime
Ranger14 - 9/9/2012, 7:08 PM
"Screw anyone whining about "americanizing"
Other countries adapt our characters all the time."

That's pretty much a nice irrelevant, red herring diversion. This isn't about other countries adapting American characters, it's about America adapting overseas manga & anime. Please name one live adaption manga/anime that America has adapted well.
MovieTheaterLad - 9/9/2012, 7:29 PM
@Ranger14

Speed Racer was pretty awesome.

Also, though they don't count, Silent Hill and The Departed were really good. d even won an Oscar... for Best Picture!
Ranger14 - 9/9/2012, 7:34 PM
Speed Racer was pretty awesome? I don't think the majority of people agree with that if you look at how people rated it and critics rated it even worse. Different strokes on that one and yes, Silent Hill and The Departed don't count, so I am still sticking with my statement. ;-)
VictorMadsen - 9/9/2012, 7:46 PM
Well, that's... interesting* casting.

I would very much love to see a well adapted, live-action version. And even though it makes me cringe a bit, the Americanization is something I could potentially live with if other aspects of the production are top-notch.

Allow me to point out that casting Kristen Stewart is the polar opposite of top-notch.

*Interesting is defined here by Joss Whedon - "Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die."
Misterfan - 9/9/2012, 7:56 PM
@ Marvel72 the last airbender is American. its not a manga made into anime, just pure american animation. just thought you should know.

To be honest tho, the storyboard looks kinda cool, Only i wish the make it with a japanese cast and in japan.
MovieTheaterLad - 9/9/2012, 8:03 PM
@Ranger14

The majority of critics demeaning it said it was either too kiddy, too unrealistic, too long, too confusing (which I don't get), and that it was a film that only really appealed to people who'd like anime or video-games or stuff.

Basically, it's like listening to people who complain that every superhero film that is light-hearted and fun isn't realistic or dark like Nolan's films.

The movie was very fun and pretty much like how IGN described it: "is not merely the best film that it could be, it's pretty much exactly what it should be: full of exciting, brilliantly-conceived races, primary-color characterizations and an irresistible sense of fun."

And besides, it's like "majority opinion" ever has definitive rule, as Captain America so eloquently puts it.
MovieTheaterLad - 9/9/2012, 8:10 PM
@VictorMadsen

Speaking of Joss Whedon, isn't it funny how people complain that a movie that takes place in the future could have white kids with Asian names, eventhough nobody complains about Firefly, which had a future where pretty much everyone spoke Chinese and had Chinese blood in them, and yet there were NO ASIAN CHARACTERS AT ALL.
Tevii - 9/9/2012, 8:16 PM
@ranger14 - I cant name 1 because it hasnt happened yet.
But what a stupid defeatist reason that would be to quit.
Marvel movies used to be the worst. so back in the 80s your logic they should have quit. Well look at them now. They are the best.
All it takes is someone that is passionate for the material.
If they keep trying eventually a great adaptation of anime will be made... then more will follow. Have some vision and persistence and it will happen. I love anime. I love akira. If i made a movie it would be true as can be. I did that trailer for fun with nothing. A true filmmaker that loves it could make an amazing Akira movie
SuspenseSmith - 9/9/2012, 8:37 PM
So they use a tron scene... okay.

I thought this was canned.

Akira is one thing no one should mess with.
SuspenseSmith - 9/9/2012, 8:40 PM
It's like remaking Gone with the Wind or Casablanca or something. Akira is the epitome of good eastern animation.

I feel like Hollywood feels less guilty about [frick]ing with international classics (like Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, the Ring, Sherlock TV series) because apparently Americans have no time to deal with "foreigner crap."
MovieTheaterLad - 9/9/2012, 8:46 PM
@SuspenseSmith

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was really good, though. Also, Sherlock Homes has been adapted so many many MANY times before in various countries around the world. The Sherlock tv show with Cumberpatch did not invent the character. That's like saying Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka movie is a remake of the Gene Wilder movie, rather than an adaptation (a more faithful one I might add) of the book that BOTH movies are based on.
MovieTheaterLad - 9/9/2012, 8:49 PM
Also, it's important to remember that the original Akira movie really took liberties with the source material to a large degree by leaving out a TON of material that would've made the film more coherent.

I'm willing to bet all of my money that if an Western studio were to make a film adaptation that was more faithful to the manga, people would still complain about how it wasn't like the anime.
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