What Spider-Man and The Dark Knight have done for comic book heroes and Sin City and 300 have done for graphic novels, these upcoming films will do for manga and anime. Speed Racer took the plunge being the first anime to be adapted by Hollywood, and there will be many more to come starting with these movies detailed below.
Dragonball
After many years of rumor and pitfalls, a live-action adaptation of one of the most popular anime/manga series in history is finally going to be released. Originally scheduled for release in August 2008, the film was pushed back to 2009 due to the amount of summer blockbusters and to allow additional post-production work. For all intents and purposes, the film has been completed and is now scheduled to make its debut sometime in February or March.
The film is based off of the last story arc in the Dragonball series (not Dragonball Z), the King Piccolo Saga. It follows protagonist Goku and his pursuit of the omni-powerful seven dragonballs before the evil Piccolo does. It’s directed by James Wong starring Justin Chatwin as Goku with Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, Emmy Rossum as Bulma, and James Marsters as Piccolo.
The teaser trailer was leaked on the internet weeks ago, and now a new trailer has been just recently released. Many fans have already judged the film to be a waste of everyone’s time. A few glaring issues that fans have pointed out have been the dubious design of some of the characters and the mysterious absence of some key figures like Goku’s best friend, Krillin.
Death Note
Two live-action films based off the manga/anime series the have already been released in Japan in 2006 and were very successful. A U.S. remake of the first film has been confirmed and will be produced by Vertigo Entertainment, responsible for remakes of other Asian movies including The Grudge, The Eye, Shutter, among others. The company reportedly beat out numerous other film companies who expressed interest in the film’s rights.
The plot of the manga/anime follows ace student, Light Yagami. One day he finds a mysterious notebook, the “Death Note,” with the power to kill anyone who has had their name written in it. Light takes it upon himself to rid the world of wrongdoing by killing off criminal offenders. Most of the story stems from his battle with the enigmatic detective, named “L,” as well as the moral and psychological ramifications of Light’s actions.
A wild, presumably fan-originated rumor is circulating that the lead of Light will be played by Zac Efron of High School Musical fame. Many fans have already condemned the film’s release based off this unconfirmed and probably untrue casting. I personally do not believe this rumor has any legs to stand on, so don’t believe anything you read until an official cast is announced. The film is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010.
Akira
When the feature-length anime film based off of Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga of the same name made its debut in 1988, it was revolutionary. Sporting extremely crisp visuals and animation, Akira ushered in an anime renaissance in the United States. Akira has had a profound impact and influence around the world since its release and now it will finally be made into a live-action film.
It will be based off the manga, which takes place in a dystopian Tokyo, ravaged by a nuclear explosion that caused World War III. The leader of a teen-aged motorcycle gang, Kaneda is swept into a secret government project when his childhood friend, Tetsuo is captured. Tetsuo is experimented on and gains extremely powerful telepathic abilities, which he uses to go on a rampage that everyone is powerless to stop.
Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to the film and Ruariri Robinson will direct it. Andrew Lazer, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson will produce. Gary Whitta is writing the screenplay. The film has a tentative release date of February 2010.
Ghost in the Shell
The popular manga series created by Masamune Shirow, which spawned three anime films, an anime series, and several video games, will be made into a 3D live-action Hollywood film. Dreamworks acquired the rights to the film over Universal and Sony after Stephen Spielberg took a personal interest in the project saying, “‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories.” It is unclear however what role, if any, Spielberg will have in the production of the film. Ari Arad and Stephen Paul will be producers and Jamie Moss will write the screenplay. Arad is known for producing all the Spider-Man and X-Men movies as well last summer’s Iron Man.
The plot of the manga follows cybernetic cop, “Major” Motoko Kusanagi who heads a secret spec-ops task force to stop the master cyber-criminal and hacker, the “Puppet Master.” Much of the first anime film focuses on Kusanagi’s struggle with her identity as a human being and what it means to be human.
The anime adaptation of the film has had a tremendous impact and influence in the West. Most notably, the Wachowski brothers cited the film as inspiration in the production of The Matrix. They even showed the film to Warner Brothers as part of the pitch in order to show the style and world they wished to create.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Announced way back in 2003, a Hollywood adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion is in a tough spot right now. The film is said to be in “development hell” as a director has not been selected, nor has the project been greenlit. ADV Films, who holds the rights to the movie, have been experiencing recent financial difficulty, which makes the possibility of a release any time in the near future a remote possibility.
The film’s production, which hasn’t even started, is surrounded by massive rumor and speculation from fans. While no data pertaining to the actual plot of the film has been announced, a popular theory is that this film will take place somewhere in America (not Japan) and follow the first six episodes of the series with the plan of releasing a trilogy or even a tetralogy of films to tell the complete story. It has been said that any actors who end up portraying the three teenage protagonists of Shinji, Rei, and Asuka will not be any established actors/actresses and will likely be new faces to Hollywood.
If the film does ever start production, it will have a lot of things going for it. First, Weta Workshop, who has worked on films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, has already been contracted to produce the film’s special effects. They have already released concept art of the Evas, plug suits, and NERV headquarters. Second, allegedly several directors and celebrities have approached the project expressing interest. Lastly Evangelion, if nothing else, has a huge following in the U.S. that will hopefully keep the project afloat and will almost guarantee financial success upon release.
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