We’ve been hearing news about the upcoming Warner Bros. film adaptation of the classic manga Akira for nearly a year now. Unfortunately, every move the studio has taken seems like a step in the wrong direction.
Yes, Warner Bros. messed up the budget, made questionable casting decisions, and rewrote the plot in unnecessarily obtuse ways. Nevertheless, we still don’t have any idea about what kind of feel the film will actually have. Really, Akira could be anything, including a horror flick, buddy film or even a romantic comedy.
But amateur filmmaker Fabien Dubois has a suggestion for Warner, which he makes in the form of a fake teaser:
I think the Dubois trailer has it about right, though the clipf reminds me quite a bit of what we just saw in Chronicle a few weekends ago. It’s dark, and represents the possibility Akira will be about the bonds of friendship, as well as the strains such power can put on those bonds. It’s also a pretty cool, yet simple, special effect that appropriately depicts the type of fantasy elements the film may incorporate.
I’m not saying Warner Bros. should hire this guy because of this clip (it is essentially just a single special effects shot, afterall) but perhaps they should take notice that the fan community is very concerned about what they may do with the beloved franchise.Then again, when is a fan community not worried about an upcoming adaptation?
The most recent synopsis for the Akira film is thus:
Kaneda (Garret Hedlund) is a bar owner in Neo-Manhattan who is stunned when his brother, Tetsuo, is abducted by government agents led by The Colonel (Ken Watanabe). Desperate to get his brother back, Kaneda agrees to join with Ky Reed (Kristen Stewart) 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.
Of course, if you know anything about Akira, you understand that’s not how the original story really goes. Akira will begin production shortly, and is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2013.
