The latest rumor for the “Akira” live-action film is in: Warner Bros. is “aggressively” courting Jordan Peele to direct.
Peele, who just made history with his directorial debut “Get Out,” which is now the first movie by a black writer/director to bring in more than $100 million in the box office, has not yet commented on the rumor, which emerged this week from Jeff Sneider at The Tracking Board.
“Akira,” a post-nuclear tale which follows a bike gang and its leader who becomes tangled in trying to save his friend from a secret government project, was first published as a manga before its cult-classic animated adaptation in 1988.
Warner Bros. acquired rights for a pic in 2002 and has since struggled to bring the project to life. If it is made, it will be through Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way. The latest script is by Marco Ramirez, who’s known for his work on “Sons of Anarchy” and, most recently, Netflix’s “Daredevil.”
Last year, Sneider suggested via a vodcast on YouTube that Justin Lin, of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, was one of the names being floated around to helm the film. The studio never commented on that speculation.
Peele, who is otherwise best known for his sketch series “Key & Peele,” which ran for five seasons on Comedy Central, accepted the Director of the Year award at CinemaCon on Thursday.
