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Rumor: Hot Off "Get Out", Jordan Peele is being courted to direct "Akira"

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Ross61

Member
On last week’s Meet the Movie Press, I passed along a rumor that Daniel Espinosa and David F. Sandberg were in the running to direct the live-action AKIRA movie for Warner Bros. but here on the ground at CinemaCon that discussion has shifted, with insiders saying the studio is moving aggressively to lock in Jordan Peele to direct coming off the mega-success of Get Out.

Warner Bros. has been enamored with Peele ever since Get Out opened to big business and sparked a cultural conversation. At one point, I thought the studio was going to ask him to direct THE FLASH. Who knows? They still could! But I’m told Akira is the WB project they’re currently discussing with Peele, and the talks have apparently been encouraging.

Representatives for Warner Bros. and Peele did not immediately respond to an after-hours request for comment.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is producing Akira with Andrew Lazar (American Sniper). Marco Ramirez (Netflix’s Daredevil) wrote the most recent draft of the script, though it’s expected that Peele would do his own pass should he close a deal.

Warner Bros. has struggled for years to gets its live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic manga off the ground, and the property has languished in development to fans’ dismay. The film nearly went into production several years ago with Jaume Collet-Serra directing Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart, but the plug was pulled at the last minute.

Now I know what you’re thinking. I’ve cried wolf before about Akira. In addition to Espinosa (whose Life just underperformed) and Sandberg (who ended up getting the bigger Shazam gig), I’ve said that Justin Lin was being sought to direct at one point. But all of those names were floated on the podcast, never published. Our sourcing is solid on this one, but of course, I’m not at the negotiating table, and The Flash remains a tantalizing, not to mention even higher-profile possibility.

So, what would a deal with Peele mean for Akira? Well for starters, he would be an exciting coup for a project that has unfortunately developed a reputation as being “troubled.” At the time, many blogs were upset about casting Hedlund and Stewart as traditionally Asian leads — the same issues that have plagued Paramount’s upcoming Ghost in the Shell. But Peele deftly navigated racial themes in Get Out, and it’s that very sensitivity that could make him the perfect director for the job.

Peele’s directorial debut Get Out has grossed more than $150 million on a reported budget of less than $5 million. Insiders say he’s refreshingly unpredictable and could always decide to stick with making socially-conscious genre films that give him more creative freedom for the time being, but the feeling within the industry is he’s ready to make the big-budget leap now.

Peele, who will be in Las Vegas on Thursday to accept CinemaCon’s Director of the Year Award, is represented by CAA, Principato-Young entertainment and attorney Jared Levine.

http://www.tracking-board.com/hot-off-get-out-jordan-peele-is-being-courted-to-direct-akira-for-warner-bros-exclusive/
 

wamberz1

Member
Thats uhhh... quite the genre shift
also
EWFzV.gif
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
I'm so happy for Jordan, he deserves this.
 
Glad he's getting recognition for his work. Hope he doesn't do it and sticks to his plans. Definitely wanna see what he's been cooking up..
 
Akira is one of those movies that I can't understand why there seems to be such a need to adapt. The medium of choice was perfect for its story and visual, that going to live action would seem an odd headscratcher at best.
 

akira28

Member
He's shown he has a fine understanding of layers. Now give him an asian cast and let him work on 3 movies.

Glad he's getting recognition for his work. Hope he doesn't do it and sticks to his plans. Definitely wanna see what he's been cooking up..

good damn point. It would be just like them to toss brotherman a lit and sparking, live hand grenade, just to see if he'll catch it.
 

Monocle

Member
I HOPE HE DOES A GOOD JOB

ALTHOUGH HONESTLY WHO WATCHES GET OUT AND THINKS YEP WE'VE FOUND OUR AKIRA GUY

HOLLYWOOD LOGIC AMIRITE
 
Guy cops to a previous sketchy rumor about Akira, somehow jumps to assuming Warners wants Peele for The Flash, and now he's wanted for Akira?

Wouldn't be against but that rumor reads suspect.
 
Good for him! Hope he scores it if true!

SPOILERS!
I want the girl to survive this time. Not get...squished or whatever happened to her. Soured my experience...
 

Vic_Viper

Member
Kinda random but ok lol. Whatever gets this movie made is fine by me. Cant believe DiCaprio still owns the rights too. Wonder if he still wants to play the lead, especially after all the white washing complaints lately.

Justin Lin would have been my choice.
 

J_Viper

Member
Marco Ramirez (Netflix’s Daredevil) wrote the most recent draft of the script, though it’s expected that Peele would do his own pass should he close a deal

That's good to hear, because the writing in Daredevil...man
 

robotrock

Banned
After Get Out, I can't imagine Peele directing anything he hasn't actually written himself.

That screenplay is too sharp
 

gforguava

Member
I pray to all the gods he doesn't do this, the last thing I want is for him to get crushed under the weight of big budget studio bullshit.
 

Seesaw15

Member
All Black Akira baby!

But seriously Peele's a talented genre director and seems like he'd be a fan of the source material. If he's surrounded by talented enough people this could be another Russo Brothers situation.
 
Don't do it Peele.

Let that thing languish were it is. He's got a huge ticket so for the love of god don't get stuck with that mess of landmine for his next project.
 
Glad he's getting recognition for his work. Hope he doesn't do it and sticks to his plans. Definitely wanna see what he's been cooking up..

Yeah. Peele's talents are better for something else rather than a property as unwieldy & unnecessary as Akira, despite knowing he probably do well and might actually be interested in not whitewashing it/using a diverse cast
 
Hope he turns this shit down and keeps doing his thing. I think he would be cool for the Flash but he should at least do his thing for one more movie before getting turned into a cog in the machine.
 
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