Marco J. Ramirez has been signed to write a new script for the live action Akira feature, according to Hollywood Reporter.  Ramirez has written episodes of Daredevil, Orange Is the New Black, and Sons of Anarchy, and will be co-showrunner on the second season of Daredevil. 

Akira has been in development for years, most recently with Jaume Collet-Serra to direct (see “Jaume Collet-Serra to Helm ‘Akira’”) in 2011, and the Hughes Brothers in 2010 (see “Hughes Brothers Helming ‘Akira’”).  The script those directors were working from, by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Iron Man, Children of Men), with Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) set the film in New Manhattan rather than Neo-Tokyo.    

Kodansha has the Katsuhiro Otomo manga.  Akira:  25th Anniversary Edition, the animated adaptation, was released on Blu-ray and DVD in November of 2013 (see “DVD Round-Up:  ‘Man of Steel,’ ‘Akira,’ Dexter’”).