Four Anime Classics Currently Being Adapted As Live Action Movies

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Four projects are currently underway to remake classic anime into live action movies. For each movie included here, you'll find a brief plot summary, followed by the latest news on their development.

AKIRA - originally released July 16, 1988 - Written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his own hit manga.

The story is set thirty-one years after the destruction of Tokyo and World War III, in 2019, in Neo-Tokyo, a huge city built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. A secret military project turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychopath with psionic powers and only two kids and a group of other psionics can stop him.

NY Magazine recently announced Warner Brothers is in negotiations with the Hughes Brothers to direct. On June 17, 2010, producer Andrew Lazar said that a new writer had been hired and that the movie is being fast tracked. He also said the first movie would be based on volumes 1-3 with a second movie covering volumes 4-6.

GHOST IN THE SHELL - released in 1995 - Directed by Mamoru Oshii. Adapted from the original manga by Masamune Shirow.

It's 2029 and the world has become interconnected by a network that permeates every aspect of life. Tokyo's Section 9 network security force must catch a hacker known as the Puppet Master who can hack human minds and leaves behind fake memories. Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg officer leading the investigation and begins to question her own existence. The Puppet Master may have answers to all her questions...and strangely enough, he's been looking for her.

In early March 2010, Screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis said she would be submitting a draft of the script in the coming weeks. She says to "cross your fingers" because getting a movie made with a female lead is a bit hard in Hollywood at the moment. She was also once attached to write a script for James Cameron's adaptation of Battle Angel Alita. This information comes from an article by Son Goshin at LiveActionAnime.org.

NINJA SCROLL - June 5, 1993 - Western release December 6, 1995 - Written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The film is an homage to the Ninpocho series of ninja novels by Futaro Yamada.

Jubei Kibagami, a wandering sword-for-hire and ninja is led into a plot by the Shogun of the Dark to overthrow the Shogun and conquer Japan. Pursued by demons, Jubei joins forces with a deadly female ninja to fight many super strong inhuman opponents on their way to the truth behind this conspiracy.

In late February 2010, The Hollywood Reporter announced that writer Alex Tse (Watchmen) has written a script for the Warner Brothers live action adaptation. Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company has held the live action adaptation rights since 2008.

BATTLE ANGEL - manga written by Yukito Kishiro, called "Battle Angel Alita" - Anime adaptation of the first few books, called "Battle Angel" was released as "original video animation", consisting of 2 episodes, Rusty Angel and Tears Sign. Released in Japan as "Gunnm".

In the 26th century, a floating city, called Tiphares, dumps its trash onto the world below. In this bleak landscape, called the Scrapyard, Doc Ido, a cyborg physician, finds the head and torso of a young cyborg girl. Only Alita's brain is human and she has lost her memory. Doc Ido rebuilds her and later they discover that she has been programmed with an ancient cyborg fighting style. Alita soon finds out that Doc Ido works as a bounty hunter for the Factory, (the support organization for the floating city). Together, they take on many deadly foes as they try to unlock Alita's true power and potential.

On February 19, 2010 Avatar producer Jon Landau hinted on MTV Splash that the film, now being called Alita, may be filmed after Avatar 2, which is currently in development. James Cameron will direct the live-action adaption of the first three volumes of the manga series. More movies would cover the rest of the series if the first was successful. In later news it was reported that the film would focus on Alita's early development as she learns she's a deadly machine. Both Landau and Cameron are drawn to scenes involving Motorball, the gladitor-style racing battle for cyborgs in which Alita participates.

If you're a big fan of anime, or just movies in general, don't miss these four new live action films.