For the record, I haven't read any of the source material for anything I'm about to post, so I have no realistic idea of what to expect with these movie versions when they finally come out.
Two live-action adaptations of Akira have been greenlit, set in a rebuilt New Manhattan 31 years after it has been destroyed. Apparently it involves motorcycle gangs that roam the streets after a nuclear war and one gets implanted with psychokinetic powers (whatever that means). Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions is producing the film, and there's a rumor that he will star as the franchise's main character, Kaneda. Another rumor regarding these films is that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been cast as Tetsuo, the motorcycle gang member who gains the previously mentioned powers through a government experiment. The pitch to the studio was that it was like "Blade Runner meets City of God." City of God is in my top 30 favorite movies, so anything thematically similar I'm sure I'll enjoy, especially if it stars DiCaprio and JGL as motorcycle gang members.
David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) is set to direct a movie version of the 12-issue Black Hole, written for the screen by Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Roger Avery. This one sounds pretty strange - set in the 1970's, it follows a group of high school students who spread "the Bug," which is a STD that has no cure. They develop bizarre mutations and become social outcasts, so the movie will likely center on the themes of adolescence, growing up, social shunning, etc. Could be interesting, I guess. We'll see.
The one that really grabs my attention is an adaptation of The Boys, a comic created by Garth Ennis (who co-created Preacher, which I suggest you read if you don't mind violence and swearing) and Darick Robinson. The comic is about a CIA faction (nicknamed "the boys") that keeps its eye on the rising superhero segment of the population and keeps them in check if the need arises. This sounds vaguely similar to Hancock and Watchmen, two other projects regarding the "reality" of superheroes in the world, so maybe that's a new trend to watch for.
All of these movies are set to come out in 2009 or later, with Akira getting the fast-track to summer 2009.
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The difference between "The Boys" and the other projects it is compared to is that "The Boys" is outlandishly obscene and violent. And there is nothing realistic about the concept. It definitely delves much more into parody. As interesting as I feel a "The Boys" film would be though, I think it is a travesty that Garth Ennis' finest work should be ignored. What ever happened to the purported "Preacher" films or television series?
The Preacher would have to involved Eastwood in some way. So to get the best out of the Preacher movie was to have written and created the movie about 30 years ago.
Hey Broshky, you see this new hairctut?
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