10 Movies That Are Still Stuck In Development Hell

The 1988 animé film Akira was a hugely successful adaptation of a popular manga. Set in the far-flung future of 2019, the story follows the leader of a biker gang and his super-powered friend and the film was one of the first examples of Japanese media making a big impact on Western audiences, encouraging countless people to take an interest in manga and animé.

A live-action remake has been touted for years now, with Warner Bros. getting the rights back in 2002. Half a dozen directors and even more writers have since been attached to the project, but little has come of their efforts, despite the original director, Katsuhiro Otomo, saying he's fine with the idea of a Western remake.

Christopher Nolan and George Miller have been linked and countless actors have been considered for leading roles, but WB is said to be concerned that audiences might react badly to the potential 'whitewashing' of a beloved Japanese story, so that's another issue for production to overcome.

New Zealand director Taika Waititi has been recently connected with the project and said he'd like to maintain the ethnicity of the original characters, so there could be some progress over the next few years.