10 Awesome Sci-Fi Films That Need To Escape Development Hell

3. Akira

Few movies have left such a lasting legacy on the science fiction genre as Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo's animated masterpiece adapted from his manga of the same name. Set beneath the vast and sprawling neon-drenched skyscrapers of neo-Tokyo, Akira redefined the way in which animation could be used to tell a mature, intriguing story which reinvigorated the cyberpunk genre. Heavily influencing movies such as The Matrix, a live-action Hollywood remake of Akira has been in the pipeline since as early as 2002, when Warner Bros. first acquired the rights to the adaptation. SInce then a long list of names have been attached to the project, with everyone from Morgan Freeman and Michael Fassbender to Joaquin Phoenix and Joseph Gordon-Levitt slated to appear, but little headway has been made towards actually beginning production. Maybe this is a good thing - a seminal science fiction such as Akira could easily be botched without the right level of commitment and passion from those involved, and the current director on board the project, Jaume Collet-Serra, hardly comes across as the ideal candidate. With no suitable credentials to speak of (his last movie was the Liam Neeson vehicle Non-Stop) Serra hardly helped his case when earlier this year he criticised Japanese culture for their general lack of strong characters and described the protagonist of Akira, Setsuko Kaneda, as "two-dimensional". Perhaps a director who cares a little more about the project is needed before it clambers out of development hell.