With the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Ken Watanabe and Kristen Stewart linked to roles in Jaume Collet-Serra's (Unknown, Goal II: Living The Dream) unanimated version, there was a distinct concern that it would be Westernised beyond all recognition.
Looking, however, at the recently leaked storyboard artwork (by Sylvain Despretz, artist on the likes of Gladiator and The Fountain) it seems that the production was on vaguely the right track. The sketches show Chinook-style helicopters, military personnel aplenty, a huge explosion emanating from the centre of a cityscape and, crucially, a spot of motorcycle action.
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With budget concerns at Warner Bros. responsible for the project being placed on the notorious "shelf", there is now every chance that Akira Mk II will never see the light of day. These sketches do give us a rough idea of what we could have seen on it's originally slated 2013 release, but one suspects that fans of the original will not be shedding too many tears if the re-do is abandoned for good.
Source: io9
