If Hollywood likes to do one thing, it’s taking something you love, wildly misinterpreting it, and turning it into a glossy $200 million movie that may or may not flop at the box office. That seems to be the sentiment when it comes to pretty much any movie or TV adaptation ever, but it’s especially prevalent in the case of live-action anime adaptations. While many of those anime adaptations are embroiled in a larger—and frankly, necessary—conversation around whitewashing and representation in the entertainment industry, the entire genre seems to be preemptively written off by many fans.
Regardless of what you thought of it, Ghost in the Shell was just the beginning of a new wave of big budget Hollywood versions of your favorite anime and manga series. Not only is Death Note coming to Netflix this August, but other titles like Bleach, Naruto, Battle Angel Alita, and Robotech are all actively in development at major studios. But not every anime adaptation was meant to see the light of day. Some died on the vine or were preemptively banished to the ninth circle of development hell. And on today’s episode of The Dan Cave, we’re talking about all the Hollywood anime adaptations that almost happened…but didn’t.
An excerpt of a live-action Gundam script. Read more about it here
Which of these stalled-out anime adaptations would you most like to have seen? What others would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!
Image: Sunrise/Bandai
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter and ask him about all things TV (@Osteoferocious).
