Akira gets a win at last — though the live-action remake’s still going nowhere

Not every day you see a towering classic of animation crawl back onto the big screen — but here we are. AKIRA, the 1988 cyberpunk juggernaut from Katsuhiro Otomo, is coming back to cinemas across the US and Canada this September, and for once, it isn’t just another streaming re-release. We're talking full IMAX and 4K glory — proper, retina-burning stuff, if you ask me.

AKIRA returns to US and Canadian cinemas on 4 September 2026, with tickets already up for grabs.

Classic Anime, Modern Screens

For anyone who’s somehow never had the pleasure, AKIRA basically rewrote the rulebook on animation when it landed. Adapted by Otomo from his own manga, the film dropped international jaws with its painstaking detail and breakneck action, not to mention the sort of dark, morally messy storytelling that we now just expect in grown-up anime. It pretty much dragged Western audiences into the realisation that ‘cartoons’ could do cyberpunk at least as well as Blade Runner — and possibly better, if you ask certain fans.

Story-wise, it’s an anarchic ride through a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo: Kaneda, a brash teenage biker, gets swept up in chaos after his mate Tetsuo comes into contact with a psychic child (as you do). Cue secret government experiments, an awakening of god-level psychic powers, and a city that can’t seem to catch a break. All the while, Kanaeda tries — and mostly fails — to keep his friend from going full villain. The whole thing runs a taut 124 minutes and barely stops to breathe.

Still Stuck in Remake Hell

This new theatrical run comes after years of Hollywood futzing about with live-action adaptation dreams. Warner Bros. had the rights wrapped up for over two decades — you could probably grow up, learn to ride a motorbike and pilot a mecha in that time. In classic fashion, they let the rights lapse in 2025 without actually making a film, so the whole bundle reverted back to Kodansha, the original manga publisher. The live-action remake remains well and truly in limbo, for now.

• AKIRA returns to cinemas in the US and Canada from 4 September 2026, in 4K and IMAX.
• Both the original Japanese cut (with subtitles) and the English dub are included in screenings.
• Tickets are already on sale via Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
• Hollywood’s live-action project has fizzled out again after Warner Bros. lost the rights last year.
• Original film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, based on his manga, debuted in Japan in 1988.

If you’re after direct sci-fi lineage, AKIRA's visual DNA is everywhere — from The Matrix to Stranger Things, video games, and pretty much every street-level neon dystopia since. Now's a rare chance to see where it all began, on screens big enough to make your retinas hurt (in a good way!).