This Iconic 44-Year-Old Cyberpunk Manga Still Hasn’t Had A Live-Action Adaptation, Despite Many Attempts

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Cyberpunk is incredibly popular right now, and it’s a bit frustrating that a classic 44-year-old manga of the genre hasn’t yet been made into a live-action movie or show, even though people have tried several times. The core idea of cyberpunk – a world with advanced technology and a gritty, difficult life – feels more relevant today than ever. That’s why we’re seeing so many new adaptations of cyberpunk stories.

This year is huge for cyberpunk fans! After decades, the influential novel Neuromancer is finally being adapted for the screen. We’ll also see the Blade Runner universe grow with the new TV series Blade Runner 2099, and a new Ghost in the Shell anime is coming out in July. On top of all that, lots of exciting cyberpunk video games are on the way!

Despite the promising cyberpunk projects coming up, many great stories haven’t yet been adapted for live-action television or film. Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash and Melissa Scott’s Trouble and Her Friends would both make excellent TV shows, and Tsutomi Nihei’s Biomega would be visually stunning. But perhaps the biggest surprise is that the Akira manga hasn’t been adapted yet.

Akira is a highly acclaimed manga, winning prestigious awards like the Kodansha Manga Award, two Harvey Awards, and two Eisner Awards. Its creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, even received a Japanese Medal with Purple Ribbon in recognition of his artistic contributions, largely due to Akira. Despite its critical success and cultural impact, a successful live-action film adaptation has surprisingly never been made.

A Live-Action Akira Has Been Attempted Many Times Over The Years

For around thirty years, filmmakers have tried to bring the anime classic Akira to life with a live-action movie, but it hasn’t happened yet. Sony originally obtained the rights in the 1990s, but details about their plans remain largely unknown. In 2002, Warner Bros. took over the rights, beginning a challenging 23-year journey to finally make the film.

Originally, in 2002, Stephen Norrington was chosen to direct the movie. Details about his vision are scarce, but it’s known he planned to portray Kaneda and Tetsuo as brothers rather than friends.

Ruairi Robinson took over the project in 2008, and it’s the version with the most details available publicly. The creative team decided to reimagine Kaneda and Tetsuo as adult brothers. Kaneda was envisioned as a bar owner, and the story would be set in Neo-Manhattan instead of Neo-Tokyo. The idea was that the US would sell Manhattan to Japan following an economic downturn.

Following that, Warner Bros. hired directors Allen and Albert Hughes to create a live-action version of Akira. According to IGN, a draft of their script significantly changed the original story, portraying Akira as a disturbing child killer and even including references to the 9/11 attacks. In 2023, Albert Hughes discussed the project with Josh Horowitz, explaining that the studio cited casting problems as the reason it didn’t move forward, but he believed they simply weren’t prepared to make the film.

Jaume Collet-Serra became the director in 2011, but his involvement with the project was on-again, off-again. He stepped away in 2012, returned in 2013, and then left again in mid-2015. In 2014, comments he made calling the characters in Akira “uninteresting” and linking that to Japanese culture (according to Crunchyroll News) worried many fans.

Taika Waititi began working on the film in late 2017 with a fresh approach. Previous attempts at a live-action Akira hadn’t focused on casting Asian American actors, but Waititi intended to prioritize emerging talent from that community. He also shared with IndieWire his plan to base the movie on the original manga, rather than the anime. Sadly, Warner Bros. lost the rights to the project in 2025, and they returned to the original publisher, Kodansha.

Akira Would Be Better As A Live-Action TV Show, Not A Movie

Taika Waititi had a great idea: adapt the original manga, not the existing anime film. He felt the anime was already perfect and a live-action version wouldn’t improve it. However, he thought a live-action adaptation based directly on the manga could be really interesting.

A TV series would be the ideal way to adapt Akira, much better than a movie. Live-action cyberpunk shows are gaining popularity, and with the success of shows like Neuromancer and Blade Runner 2099, an Akira series could attract both longtime fans and new viewers.

Interestingly, a fantastic science fiction series has already shown us a great way to do this. The Expanse successfully adapted one book per season over its six seasons, leaving three books untouched. A TV adaptation of Akira could follow the same model, covering one volume of the manga per season for a total of six seasons.

If It Happened, Akira Could Be One Of The Greatest TV Shows Ever Made

An Akira TV series would be a valuable project for any studio or streaming service. Adapting one manga volume per season would be a smart approach, and the potential payoff is huge – it could become one of the most acclaimed TV shows of all time if executed well.

Even after 44 years, the story remains powerfully engaging and surprisingly relevant. Recent studies by Politics Today and Politico suggest that many people globally are worried about the possibility of World War III. The bleak, futuristic world depicted in Akira would likely strike a chord with those fearing a major conflict.

The anime version softened many of the darker, more violent, and cynical aspects of the original manga. Fortunately, audiences are now more accepting of bleak or pessimistic science fiction, thanks to the growing popularity of such shows since the anime debuted in 1988. Additionally, the current trend in Hollywood towards high-quality television opens the door for a live-action Akira series to embrace these harsher themes and delve deeper into the story’s core ideas.

A live-action TV series could expand on the story of Akira by including events not shown in the original anime, such as the devastating war that follows Neo-Tokyo’s collapse. The series could also delve deeper into the backgrounds and abilities of other characters, explore the religious groups surrounding Akira, and address darker themes like sexual slavery – all details richly present in the original manga.

Why Akira In Live-Action Is So Difficult

Despite many attempts, a live-action movie of Akira still hasn’t been made. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. History shows that seemingly impossible adaptations often succeed – the Dune movie and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are prime examples. We’ve also seen successful live-action versions of challenging comics and manga, like One Piece, the Watchmen TV series, Alita: Battle Angel, and the Crisis on Infinite Earths event from the Arrowverse.

Even though an Akira adaptation is now feasible, it won’t be simple. The original Akira is so beloved that meeting fans’ expectations will be incredibly difficult. Filmmakers worry that changing the setting would weaken the story’s impact. Plus, cyberpunk productions are notoriously costly, meaning a live-action Akira would need a significant financial investment.

Creating a live-action Akira would be a huge visual undertaking, and it would be challenging to make the effects look amazing without being over-the-top. The story is incredibly complex and lengthy—spanning six manga volumes—making it hard to adapt for a movie, especially if they followed a comedic approach like Taika Waititi and used the manga as the source material. The narrative doesn’t lend itself to being easily divided into smaller parts for a film adaptation.

Making a live-action version of Akira is incredibly difficult and faces many hurdles, making it seem unlikely right now. But that doesn’t mean it will never happen. With enough time and dedication, we could eventually see a truly fantastic live-action Akira film.

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2026-05-03 20:40