Taika Waititi is in negotiations with Warner Bros to helm an American remake of classic Japanese animated film Akira.
The Kiwi filmmaker of Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople is hot property in Hollywood, thanks largely to the enormous hype around his upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok.
Waititi will be working on a World War II drama-comedy entitled Jojo Rabbit he wrote himself following the Marvel film, but then may move on to Akira, according to a Deadline report.
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The story centres on a secret military project that endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures reportedly paid a seven-figure sum to acquire the rights to the film, intending to turn three books from the manga series into two films.
Recent Hollywood adaptations of international properties have been hit with crticisms and allegations of 'white-washing', perhaps most notably with Ghost in the Shell.
Waititi has a proven track record of being a culturally sensitive filmmaker, illustrated by making hiring Aboriginal people a priority while filming in Australia and being recruited by Disney to make sure they got the Pasifika-themed Moana right.
This may make him an even more attractive prospect for Warner Bros in their Akira project.
Meanwhile, Waititi posted a humourous tweet with his response to a fan-made trailer for Thor: Ragnarok with a very '80s style.
"Congrats to all the Emmy winnWHAT THE F**K LOOK AT THIS!!!!!!(sic)" he wrote, linking to the Nerdist video.
Newshub.
