Tetsuo! Kaneda! That’s right, these two frenemies are headed back to the big screen in Akira — except this time in live-action form. Fans of the manga, rejoice! The forever-in-development feature produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions and set to be directed by Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi now has a release date. According to TheWrap, the event picture will hit theaters on May 21, 2021.

This is an adaptation that’s been in the work for a whole lotta years. Ever since the animated film here in the States, it seemed like there was a real interest in finding a way to bring it to an American audience. Perhaps even more importantly, some filmmakers wanted there to be a way to incorporate the entire story, which was only told in the manga. Thank goodness, Taika Waititi was one of those filmmakers.

And there’s another important aspect. Waititi had expressed his desire in the past to hire a more diverse cast, as he revealed to IGN back in 2017.

“Yeah. actually Asian teenagers would be the way to do it for me and probably no, not, like no name, I mean sort of unfound, untapped talent. Yeah, I’d probably want to take it a bit back more towards the books.”

Everything he’s said I’m on board with. The only thing I’m wondering about is the tone. The source material is pretty darn serious, and Waititi has expressed his desire not really to have his movies ever be deathly serious. Will he be able to find a balance between his comedic stylings and the manga’s tone? I hope so!

Are you happy to see Akira getting a release date? Let us know down below!

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SOURCE: TheWrap