The wave of Live-Action adaptation has taken the entertainment industry by storm. Since the unprecedented success of the One Piece live-action series by Netflix, fans have been demanding more and more live-action series and movies of their favorite anime and manga series in hopes of also getting a successful adaptation.
Looking at the hype of the anime and manga fans over the Live-Action adaptations many franchises have decided to make their version of live-action in hopes of getting potential success in their hands. Popular anime series like Naruto and One Punch Man are already in the works of developing their own live-action adaptations.
Along with Naruto and One Punch Man, six more prominent anime and manga franchises have thrown their hats in the rings of Live-Action adaptation.
1. Akira
Akira, which is set in a dystopian 2019 Tokyo, follows the tale of Shōtarō Kaneda, the head of a biker gang, whose childhood friend Tetsuo Shima develops extraordinary telekinetic abilities following a motorcycle accident. Tetsuo Shima eventually poses a threat to an entire military service complex amid disorder and an uprising in Neo-Tokyo, a vast futuristic metropolis.
Warner Bros. has attempted and failed to adapt Akira since 2002. Taika Waititi, the writer and director of Thor: Ragnarok, is the most recent director to be connected to Akira. Waititi declared in 2017 that he would bring Akira to life, but only after completing his unnamed Star Wars project.
2. Death Note(2017) Sequel
A live-action film adaptation of one of the most well-liked anime series, Death Note, was released in 2017. The plot centers on Light Turner, an American high school student, as he discovers the Death Note—a mysterious, supernatural notebook that has the power to kill anyone whose name is written on its pages. He uses the book to kill criminals while going by the alias Kira, and a covert investigator only known as L tries to track him down.
Despite being a commercial failure, the live-action Death Note film was approved for a sequel. The director attached to the sequel is none other than Greg Russo, the writer of Mortal Kombat (2021).
3. My Hero Academia
A world where superpowers are ordinary is the setting for My Hero Academia. The protagonist of the tale is Izuku Midoriya, a young man who aspires to be a superhero despite not having a quirk from birth. He gets noticed by All Might, the greatest superhero in history, who helps Midoriya get into a prestigious high school for aspiring superheroes and bestows upon him his Quirk upon realizing his potential.
Netflix declared that it has been granted permission to adapt My Hero Academia into a live-action film. Shinsuke Sato, the director of popular live-action anime adaptions such as Bleach, Gantz, and I am Hero, will take charge of My Hero Academia.
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4. Hellsing
Hellsing tells the story of the fight against vampires, ghouls, and other otherworldly adversaries that threaten England, carried out by the shadowy and covert Hellsing Organisation. Hellsing’s task is to track down and eliminate undead monsters and other evil supernatural forces that pose a threat to the queen and the nation.
The film will be produced by Amazon Studios and will be written and produced by Derek Kolstad, who is responsible for three of the four wildly popular John Wick films. This would establish Hellsing as the first live-action anime on Amazon.
5. Mobile Suit Gundam
Set in the futuristic calendar year “Universal Century” 0079, Mobile Suit Gundam is an anime series whose plot centers on the conflict between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation, the latter of which introduces a new, massive robot known as the RX-78-2 Gundam, which is piloted by Amuro Ray, a teenage civilian mechanic.
There has previously been a live-action Mobile Suit Gundam film, but it was a huge failure. Legendary Entertainment and Netflix, on the other hand, have taken up the project and will produce a second live-action series adaptation. Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director of Kong: Skull Island, is also involved with the project.
6. Pokémon Detective Pikachu Sequel
A live-action film called Pokémon Detective Pikachu was released based on the plot of the most popular anime series ever created: Pokémon. It centers on Pikachu and former Pokémon trainer Tim Goodman as they work to unravel the mystery surrounding Tim’s father Harry’s disappearance. Ryan Reynolds provided the voice acting for Pikachu.
A sequel was announced in 2023, and it was revealed that Chris Galletta, the director of The Kings of Summer, and Jonathan Krisel, the star of Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, would write and direct it, respectively. Additionally, it’s currently unknown if Ryan Reynolds will make a comeback.
