Warner first hired Stephen Norrington, director of Blade (another project stuck in remake limbo), in 2002 to make a live-action version. MICHAEL TRAN/AFP/Getty ImagesIn 2019, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi was announced as the remake’s most recent director and co-writer. They could even return to Sony, which acquired the rights to the original manga all the way back in the ‘90s. It does feel like live-action Akira is always doomed to fail, and given how fans feel about it, that might be for the best. But in an age where a previously impossible anime like One Piece can get a live-action Netflix series, anything remains possible.