'Uncharted,' 'Akira' Adaptations Lose Directors

Hollywood is always eager to make the next big movie. One of the more reliable ways to try to do that is by adapting a property that has already been successful and popular in another medium. This can include comic books, novels, television shows or any one of dozens of sources.

Recently, two major adaptations have seen their directors leave the respective projects over "creative differences." Variety's Showblitz.com reported that director David O. Russell, nominated for an Oscar earlier this year for "The Fighter," has left the big-screen adaptation of the "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" video game series. Meanwhile, Deadline.com broke the news that director Albert Hughes, who co-directed "The Book of Eli," has walked away from the live action remake of the Japanese manga and anime film "Akira."

There's something both of these announcements have in common: They are unlikely to upset fans of the either property. Both of these adaptations have been met with a great deal of fan criticism if not outrage due to changes being made to the stories and characters.

In the case of "Uncharted," Russell spurned Nathan Fillion, the fans' preferred actor for the lead role of Nathan Drake, in favor of his regular collaborator Mark Wahlberg. This didn't get things off on the right foot with fans of the video game series, but it was the casting news that came later that was much more worrying. Russell said he planned to have Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci as Drake's father and uncle respectively appear in the film. These are characters that do not exist at all in the video games, and introducing a family dynamic seemed to point to a complete re-structuring of the globe-trotting, treasure-seeking action that fans loved. It's not clear at this point whether the aforementioned actors will stay with the film now that Russell has departed, but it seems unlikely. It was Russell's vision for the film that brought these actors on board in the first place; if he's leaving over creative differences, it would follow that it won't be his idea of the film that will ultimately be made.

In the case of "Akira," most of the changes that have fans so vocally concerned are being made at the studio level above leaving director Hughes. So in this case it's more the idea that the film will be stalled further that has fans breathing a sigh of relief. The original "Akira" is a violent story of members of a teenage biker gang in a futuristic Tokyo. It's a story that makes heavy allegorical use of Japan's history regarding nuclear power and weapons -- something made all the more relevant with the recent issues regarding their nuclear power plants.

The remake, however, is to be set in New York City and most of the actors who've been courted for the starring roles are far beyond teenage years. The most recent actor to be offered a lead role was Keanu Reeves, who is rapidly approaching the age of 50. Other major changes to the story that shift some of the key themes and word of a likely PG-13 rating also have fans up in arms. The result is virtually no fans of the source material who are upset that this project has stalled.

The odds are that both of these films will still be made, but the change of the director has the possibility to alter the final product. Not only do different directors bring different approaches to a film, but the very fact that the films will likely delay can change them. The more time is spent not actually shooting the movie, the more time there is for story to be altered or for casting to change due to actor availability.

"Akira" has been in the works off and on long before Hughes was attached to direct, and it is Warner Brothers' intention to keep the film on the fast tract. "Uncharted" hasn't been in development for as long but with the upcoming release of the third video game in the series, it has the potential momentum to produce a finished product.