It’s been just over a year since plans were announced to bring Osamu Tezuka’s classic manga series, Astro Boy back to the big screen as a live-action film. But now the new Astro Boy movie has a pair of screenwriters.
San Andreas scribes Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore have been signed to write the new Astro Boy adventure, and New Line Cinema is in talks to distribute the film. The Astro Boy production team of Animal Logic Entertainment, Ranger 7 Films and Tezuka Productions have grand ambitions to make the new adaptation into a “four-quadrant adventure movie†by leaving out some of the “child-skewing trappings†of the original.
The Astro Boy manga debuted in 1952 as Mighty Atom in Japan. The manga followed the title character in a futuristic world where robots were commonplace. Within the story, Astro Boy was created by Doctor Tenma as a substitute for his late son. Under the guardianship of Tenma’s successor, Professor Ochanomizu, Astro Boy became a crime fighting android who displayed the ability to feel human emotions.
Astro Boy has previously been adapted as three anime series, and a CGI animated film that was released in 2009. While Astro Boy is iconic in Japan, the character isn’t as well known in the U.S. as he used to be, which could make it challenging for the new Astro Boy movie to hit that “four-quadrant†sweet spot.
What do you think about Astro Boy’s chances in live-action? And who would you cast as the new Astro Boy? Fire up your leg rockets and share your thoughts in the comment section below!
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Image Credit:Â Imagi Animation Studios/Tezuka Productions
