Warner Bros. division New Line is in negotiations to adapt Osamu Tezuka’s classic manga Astro Boy into a live action film.

San Andreas writers Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore writing the script.

Animal Logic Entertainment, Ranger 7 Films and Japanese firm Tezuka Productions are producing the film, which will strike a more mature tone. The film is being billed as a "four-quadrant adventure film."

Astro Boy was created in the early 1950’s by legendary manga and anime creator Osamu Tezuka, who was been described as Japan’s equivalent to Walt Disney. The Astro Boy newspaper strip ran for decades and was collected into manga form. The character has been adapted into multiple anime incarnations, enjoying worldwide popularity throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Astro Boy’s origin is that he’s a robot created by a scientist to replace the scientist’s dead son. Astro strikes out on his own, going on a journey that eventually lands him with a new home, new owner, and new mission – to battle the forces of evil using his robotic powers.

Hollywood has been trying to crack the Astro Boy code for a while, and enjoyed some success with the 2009 animated adaptation from Imagi Animation.

Source: THR