NEWS: Live-Action Akira Refuses To Die

With its revolving door casting, it looked as if the much-touted live-action adaptation of the cult-classic Anime Akira was dead in the water. But fans of body horror sci-fi and shouty Japanese teenagers may be pleased (or dismayed, depending on your point of view) to hear that the Hollywood remake is most definitely back on.

NEWS: Akira Remake Gets New Director

It may still be languishing in Development Hell but it seems the live-action remake of cult classic Anime, Akira, has at least finally landed a director.

NEWS: Keanu Reeves Backs Away from Akira Remake - World Rejoices

We reported earlier this month that Keanu Reeves had been in discussions to star in the live-action remake of Anime cult classic, Akira. In an incredible bit of casting, Reeves, 46, was supposedly being tapped to play the character of Kaneda, one of the two teenage anti-heroes in the original animated movie.

Reeves has since added his name to the list of actors who've passed on the role (you can see the full roster here) and in completely un-related, non-panicked news, Warner Bros. has closed-down the movie's pre-visualisation department and announced that the project is still on track, smiled a lot and re-assured everybody that everything is just ticketty-boo in Akira town.

You can read more over at Bleeding Cool.

NEWS: Keanu Reeves Eyes Akira Remake

For those unfamiliar with the 1988 original, Akira was an animated adaptation of the popular Manga (comicbook) of the same name. The groundbreaking feature introduced the west to the Anime phenomenon and opened the floodgates for Japanese animated movies and TV.

Now according to The Hollywood Reporter, Keanu Reeves is in discussions to play the role of Kaneda in the upcoming live-action adaptation from Warner Bros. Given that the character the 46-year old actor is in talks to portray was a Japanese teenager in the original, it appears that the rumoured changes to the script are well founded.

Whilst the original was not without its faults (chief of which was simply trying to cram too much into a single movie) and it's unfair to judge before we see it, the remake isn't sounding too promising.