Warner Bros. Hires New Writer For 'Akira,' Wants A PG-13 Film

Even though producer Andrew Lazar said last year that the live action adaptation of "Akira" was "real priority" and may "go before the third quarter of next year for a 2011 release," it appears they are making sure everything is right before getting their expensive, two-part film up on the big screen.

Speaking with Collider (via /Film), Lazar says that the project is now out to a new writer, Albert Torres. If the name is unfamiliar to you, he wrote "Henry Poole Is Here" which was turned into one of the worst movies we've seen in ages by Mark Pellington. We presume the draft that was turned in by "Iron Man" writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who were hired last fall, has been binned. Torres' draft is due in September so don't expect this to get in front of cameras until the end of year, or most likely 2011 at the earliest.

The other latest revelation about the project comes from director Albert Hughes, who was hired in February along with his brother Allen to helm the film, who says, “The first thing they said to me was it had to be PG-13.” While he goes to acknowledge that it will be "challenge," it's not that surprising. R-rated niche comic book films are difficult sell, and really, the definition of PG-13 seems to be pretty broad these days so with some clever edits, we would imagine the Hughes Brothers would still be able to bring their vision to the screen without too many compromises.

Albert also said that while he is definitely on board for the first film, he has no interest in doing the second part, “I’m not into sequels,” he says. “I don’t even know if I wanna be around for the sequel. I’m just focusing on the first movie.” Our guess is that the amount of time the film is already taking, he's not keen to tie himself to this franchise for the foreseeable future. Again, not a big deal. Switching directors for different parts of a franchise is en vogue these days (see "Twilight") and from a studio perspective, is much cheaper than paying out for a director to return to a successful series.

We really can't say we're too excited by this project. The Hughes Brothers have gone from being interesting directors with a unique voice, to guns for hire on boring tentpole projects. And with the film clearly aiming for a big audience, expect any edges from the source material to be completely rounded off or excised.