While we’re all aware that there’s a live action adaptation of Akira on the way from purveyor of insanity Taika Waititi, The Hollywood Reporter tells us now that there’s also a sequel to the original 1988 anime classic on the way too.
Set to be imagined as a series, Akira manga mastermind Katsuhiro Otomo announced at this year’s Las Vegas Anime Expo that the show will be produced by Bandai Namco‘s Sunrise Inc. animation studio.
Sunrise’s prolific portfolio includes anime titles such as Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Armored Trooper Votoms, The Vision of Escaflowne, Witch Hunter Robin, My-HiME, Tiger & Bunny as well as many more.
Otomo also announced that he will direct Orbital Era, his third anime feature which he will be writing and directing; while there is a vague synopsis of the film, it seems that the full details of it, along with Akira 2 are somewhat mysterious at this point.
The original Akira film will also be getting a 4K remastered release next year (possibly in celebration of the time in which Akira is set…2019) despite the fact that we don’t seem to have drug fuelled Tron-biker gangs and bizarre military experiments or psychic abominations. I don’t think.
What do you guys think? Any fans of the original Akira want to see an official sequel play out? Do you think the kismet of having two high profile franchise projects in the works signals a new golden age for the fandom?
Let us know your thoughts on the Akira sequel series in the comments below!