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Renowned entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider revealed today on his blog, The InSneider, that "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" director Jason Reitman and "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" director Gil Kenan are collaborating to develop an American live-action film adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's classic Japanese manga "Astro Boy" for Sony Pictures.
(Image Source: Imagi International)
Sony first acquired the film rights to "Astro Boy" in 1999, with the rights nearly expiring around 2004-2005. In 2009, animation studio Imagi invested $65 million to release an American animated film, but it ultimately grossed only $39 million at the box office, leading to substantial losses and indirectly causing the studio's collapse. Later, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures took over and attempted to develop a live-action "Astro Boy" film, but the project was halted after the outbreak.
Sneider noted that after the Warner Bros. version stalled, Sony had quietly reacquired the film rights some time ago, though it hadn't been reported by the media. Whether Reitman will personally direct remains undecided and will depend on the final script development and his satisfaction with it.
via： The InSneider