'Akira' Live-Action Reboot Sets a Release Date

Mark your calendars.

Taika Waititi's live-action Akira reboot is in the books.

According to Consequence of Sound, the film has received a May 21, 2021 release date from Warner Bros., sharing its premiere with the fourth chapter of John Wick. Waititi's take is set to begin shooting later this year in California. Leonardo DiCaprio and Andrew Lazar will produce with DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions backing Waititi's vision.

READ: The Live-Action Akira Reboot is Really Happening

Last month, Waititi official signed on to the project after expressing his interest in an adaptation all the way back in 2017. And his attempt won't be the first. In 2011, a live-action reboot with Kristen Stewart, Dane DeHaan, and Garrett Hedlund, was abandoned due to issues with the script, casting, and budget. Waititi previously addressed "whitewashing" concerns, noting: "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." The Thor: Ragnarok director added that any Akira adaptation he helmed would not be based on the 1988 anime classic. Instead, he'll be taking cues from Katsuhiro Otomo's six-volume manga, which ran from 1982 through 1990.

Details are still slim with no cast in place. But this will certainly be one to watch in the months ahead.