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‘Akira’ Rights Up for Grabs as Japanese Sci-Fi Leaves Warner Bros.

After 20 years, a dozen creatives attached and millions spent on development, Warners is moving on from the seminal property.

The Norrington version withered (the box office failure of his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a contributing factor) and several years later, Legendary was brought on board to co-finance. Writers and directors that came and went include Gary Whitta, Mark Fergus, Hawk Otsby, Steve Kloves, Allen and Albert Hughes, and Jaume Collet-Sera. Set in postapocalyptic Tokyo, Akira tells the story of a teen named Tetsuo, who is in a biker gang and who discovers he has powerful telekinetic abilities that threaten the world.

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