The movie Jordan Peele is thrilled he never made: “I’m glad I didn’t do it”
Imagine watching an episode of Key and Peele in 2012 and somebody telling you that one of them was going to become one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation; that’s precisely what has happened to Jordan Peele.
Ever since he switched his focus to directing, the former comedian has had success after success. He’s also lent his backing to a number of other projects as a producer, such as the 2021 remake of Candyman and Dev Patel’s debut feature, Monkey Man.
It’s strange to think that Peele has only helmed three films, considering the impact he’s already had, which include a fascinating modern take on racism in the form of Get Out, the follow-up Us, depicting a horrifying doppelgänger story, and finally Nope, his tale of extra-terrestrials and animal cruelty. It is not a bad haul, but apparently, it could have been one name longer, as following his debut’s success, he was approached by Warner Bros about a live-action remake of the classic animated Japanese film Akira.
Based on the eponymous 1982 manga created by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also served as the director and co-writer for this cyberpunk odyssey when it for brought to screens in 1988, the story follows a motorcycle rider as he navigates the dystopian world of Neo-Tokyo in the far-flung year of 2019, which honestly felt like a long time off back in the 1980s.
It made perfect sense as Peele is a huge fan, having admitted that it has had a major influence on his own work, which is why people were a little bit surprised when he turned the remake opportunity down.
The talented funnyman isn’t the only big name to have been attached to this idea, as Mad Max head honcho George Miller was once in the running, while Taika Waititi was supposedly going to direct a version set for a 2021 release, which, as you probably already know, didn’t happen.
Speaking to IndieWire, Peele explained that it was his love for the source material that meant he couldn’t commit. “It’s a project I’m so passionate about,” he revealed, “I’m glad I didn’t do it because I feel like…staying away from that, trying to interpret that IP just set me on the path to create something new. But I want to see Neo-Tokyo. I want to see an all-Japanese cast. I want to feel immersed in the world, the way of the films in the manga.”
Peele was absolutely right to be nervous about adapting Akira, for history is littered with examples of Western directors trying and failing to remake Japanese movies for a range of reasons, whether due to the cultural differences between the two sides of the world, American studios not taking Japanese work seriously, whitewashing issues, or just bad luck.
In recent years, while more faithful movie adaptations of popular Japanese media have found great success overseas, such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, which was one of the top-grossing films of 2025, Peele was wise not to let his love for Akira blind him to the myriad pitfalls of a remake. If he had released it as his second film and it had bombed, then he might not be the revered auteur he is today.
