Mad Max Director Passed on Live-Action Akira Movie

A live-action remake of the anime classic Akira has been in development for a long time, with various directors and producers attached to the project over the past decade. Now Mad Max director George Miller has revealed he was approached to direct at one point.

While speaking to Yahoo to promote the Blu-ray release of his action blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road, Miller explained that tackling the Akira remake was one project that he was being considered for. "There was talk of it," he said, "But I've got so many things on my dance card, I don't have the time to do everything.

"I'm a huge fan of anime and the precision of that and to some degree manga, even though I don't read Japanese, but just the aesthetic of it."

Last month, it was reported that Warner, who own the US rights to Katsuhiro Otomo's 1989 film, were now planning a trilogy of new Akira movies. Christopher Nolan is rumoured to have met with at least one potential director for the project.

In 2012, the remake reached the pre-production stage before Warner shut down the Vancouver production office.

The manga of Akira ran between 1982 and 1990, and is widely credited for popularising Japanese comic books internationally. Equally, the success of Otomo's animated version did much to introduce Western viewers to anime, and is now considered one of the finest sci-fi films ever made.