When it was
revealed back in July that Taika Waititi would helm
Thor: Love and Thunder (a sequel to
Thor: Ragnarok), WB was said to be blindsided as the
JoJo Rabbit helmer was belived to be lining up a live-action, Western adaptation of
Akira as his next project.
In a recent interview, Waititi stated that he planned to helm
Akira after
Thor 4, which is set for release on November 5, 2021.
Now, those plans appear to be in even greater flux as WB has elected to completely remove
Akira from its slate of upcoming films. The studio updated a number of films on its release calendar, with
The Matrix 4 taking over
Akira's original May 21, 2021 release date. Additionally, the long-gestating standalone superhero film for The Flash was dated for July 1, 2022.
Waititii first
signed up for the project back in 2017. Over the years,
Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin and
Get Out director Jordan Peele have also been attached to the project. Going back in further, 2011 had Jaume Collet-Serra slated to direct, with a cast that included Ken Watanabe, Garret Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Ezra Miller and Helena Bonham Carter. Just before filming was slated to begin in Vancouver, WB halted the project over budgetary concerns.