A couple of interesting (and slightly unusual) tidbits regarding oft-discussed Hollywood remakes popped up this week. The meatiest concerns that news from Deadline that an American adaptation of LONE WOLF & CUB is in the works with FAST FIVE’s Justin Lin attached to direct and the husband & wife Peoples screenwriting team set to write it.
More so than any potential manga-to-film project, I have a real hard time imagining this getting too far into development without some major creative changes. It’s not like the basic concept won’t translate to American screen - - ROAD TO PERDITION was admittedly imagined as LONE WOLF & CUB transplanted into prohibition-era Chicago. However, outside of maybe MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, I can’t think of any Hollywood picture set in historical Japan that hasn’t needed Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves to sell. So this version, if it goes through, will probably need to add some Gaijin to cast or move the action to somewhere other than the Edo period.
A few more beans pertaining to the AKIRA remake have also been spilled. As IFC relays, actor Toby Kebbell talked a little at a recent WRATH OF THE TITANS press junket about the brief period he was in talks to play Tetsuo. More or less, the guy was an actual fan of the manga and the anime, and he had some hesitations about the major change the studio proposed about making Kaneda and Tetsuo brothers. By his reckoning, the most worthwhile option would've been doing a more faithful adaptation of the manga that split all six volumes up into two movies (an option that actually was on the table for the while, as you'll recall.)
If that AKIRA adaptation ever comes out, it would be interesting if the story picked up after the events in Vol. 3, probably as a sequel to the anime. Even better would be if the story had a perspective that was from a person outside of the events of the destruction of Neo Tokyo. Probably have a squad or a person from either of the cults that were made try and extrapolate what's really going on.
Any thoughts on what you would want to see in the story if that ever comes out? I mean, if you're seeing an accident unfold in slow motion (as it were), then you should probably try your best to make the situation less painful rather than grab some popcorn see it happen and complain that the events weren't that great, if you follow me.
More interesting news but I'm still in the middle pertaining to whether I want to see an Akira movie(s) or not. I don't know about Lone Wolf & Cub-never heard of it, actually.
Still, who is writing these articles?
@sotyfan16: Judging by how the names of things are all in caps, I think it's safe to say Tom is posting these articles to the front page. No idea why he's not posting under his own name.