A live-action Hollywood adaptation of the anime classic Akira has been in development for a long time, with numerous directors and stars attached over the years. Now concept art for one of the potential productions has emerged, that features Chris Evans and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead roles. Check the images out in the gallery below, via Slashfim:

The artwork was created by illustrator Ruairi Robinson, and dates from around 2014. At that stage, Non-Stop director Jaume Collet-Serra was attached to the project.

Last week, it was revealed that Star Trek Beyond's Justin Lin was in talks at Warner to direct Akira. Prior to that in September, it was reported that the studio planned a trilogy, with Christopher Nolan involved at some level. In 2012, the film actually reached the pre-production stage before the Vancouver productions offices were shut down by Warner.

The manga of Akira ran between 1982 and 1990, and is widely credited for popularising Japanese comic books internationally. Equally, the success of Otomo's animated version did much to introduce Western viewers to anime, and is now considered one of the finest sci-fi films ever made.