Interviewed in the Dazed Digital Magazine alongside
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson, director Taika Waititi briefly touched on his planned Western adaptation of
Akira, reiterating that he wants to adapt Otomo's manga, not his anime film.
"“I haven’t really started to get my head around it yet. What I wanted to do was an adaptation of the books, ‘cos a lot of people are like, ‘Don’t touch that film!’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not remaking the film, I want to go back to the book.’ A lot of the people freaking out haven’t even read the books, and there are six gigantic books to go through. It’s so rich. But (the anime) Akira is one of my favorite films; my mum took me to see it when I was 13 and it changed my life."
The above statement actually echoes what
Waititi previously stated back in October 2017, just a month after
his name first surfaced as a potential director for Warner Bros.' troublesome adaptation. Waititi became a candidate after
Get Out helmer
Jordan Peele passed on the project.
In terms of the differnces between the Akira manga and anime film, the biggest changes are in regards to the titular characters final fate and the greater role for Number 19. The anime film genreally remains faithful to the beginning of the manga before sacrificing several character development moments and side stories in order to advance the plot.