DiCaprio to produce live-action 'Akira'

Leonardo DiCaprio is to produce a live-action version of Japanese anime classic Akira.

The Warner Bros movie will be based on Katsuhiro Ôtomohis' 1988 acclaimed animated version of his six-volume manga, which was set in a neon-lit post-apocalyptic 'New Tokyo' in 2019.

The film centred around a motorbike gang member whose hidden powers are released by a government experiment known as Akira. Its advanced animation techniques made it a forerunner in the growing popularity of anime in the West in the early 1990s.

The new version will be a two-part epic set in 'New Manhattan', a city rebuilt by Japanese money after 31 years.

It will be helmed by first-time feature film director Ruairi Robinson from a script by Gary Whitta, with DiCaprio producing under the banner of his Appian Way company, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The first instalment is scheduled for release next summer.