We got something short and sweet to keep all of our ever shrinking attention spans. News update on the flesh and blood Akira, a new way to play with Altered Carbon, and on who’s who on the Bebop.

Movies

Live Action Akira Adaptation May Break Free of Development Hell

In the past week, it’s been reported that notorious A-lister and Oscar hound Leonardo DiCaprio has submitted an application to the California Film Commission for a live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Ôtomo‘s masterpiece animated film, Akira, which is based on his manga of the same name. In response, the CFC has awarded DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way, with roughly $18.5 million to get the project started. While an American adaptation of Akira has been struggling to get off the ground for over a decade, perhaps the ambition behind James Cameron‘s own passion project, Alita: Battle Angel, has spurred on an interest among Hollywood execs for more western films based on Japanese source material. There’s also buzz surrounding noted Akira diehard Taika Waititi‘s involvement with the project; the director, whom you may know from Thor: Ragnarok (or for you film buffs out there, the New Zealand-based vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows) has in the past expressed great interest in heading Akira’s creative vision, though there is no word yet if he is attached to the project.However, simply because Akira has been awarded tax credits does not mean the film has necessarily been greenlit, according to a Warner Brothers representative who spoke with io9. As any filmmaker can attest, any number of obstacles can stand in the way of a film’s production. Furthermore, the last time the internet got its hands on the last, leaked draft of the script attached to the project, it was reportedly unfaithful to the source material in all the wrong ways. However, this was several years ago–hopefully Appian Way’s script doctors have worked out the kinks in the past eight years. Whatever the case, we here at Neon Dystopia are very excited to see what’s in store. Until then, we always have the excellent fanmade trailer.

Casting Details Revealed for Cowboy Bebop Live-Action Series

We now know who will be playing many of the titular characters for the live-action Cowboy Bebop series from Netflix. According to Variety, Spike Spiegel will be played by John Cho, who is best known for his roles in Harold and Kumar films and more recently, the Star Trek film franchise. Jet Black will be played by Mustafa Shakir, who has appeared elsewhere in season 2 of Netflix’s Luke Cage, as well as in the HBO series “The Deuce”. Finally, Faye Valentine will be played by Daniella Pineda, who has been in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Detour, and Inside Amy Schumer. Finally, Vicious, Spike’s ex-partner and arch-nemesis, will be played by Alex Hassell, who has previously appeared in The Bisexual and Genius Season 2. Still no word on who will be playing Radical Ed, though—casting is reported to still be ongoing.

Tabletop Games

Altered Carbon RPG Announced

Have you been jonesing for more Altered Carbon like us? If so, here’s a little nibble for ya–Hunters Entertainment, now in a licensing agreement with Skydance Media, has just announced that they will soon begin a crowdfunding campaign for an RPG set in the world of stacks, sleeves, VR junkies, and lots and lots of violence. The announcement details that the series’ executive producers will be involved with the game’s development in order to give insight and tie it in directly with events that will occur in the second season.

Unfortunately, the game is anticipated for a 2020 release date, but that might be all we get from the world of Altered Carbon before the second season sees the light of day.

Notice a cyberpunk story we missed this week? Let us know down below or on social media.

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