On the eve of the anime-to-live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell hitting theaters, The Tracking Board recently reported that Warner Bros. is now actively eyeing former Comedy Central funnyman-turned-hot-ticket director Jordan Peele to helm their long-gestating adaptation of creator Katsuhiro Otomo’s undisputed manga and anime cult classic, Akira.

Jordan Peele quickly made a name for himself with his directorial debut, the social commentary thriller Get Out, which is already garnering him critical praise and early Oscar buzz. The source material tackles issues of faith, society, and the ethics of possessing great power and the psychological terrors that can ensue. Peele could approach these dark issues just as brilliantly as he did in Get Out.

Directors previously mentioned to be in the running for the job included Daniel Espinosa (Life) and David F. Sandberg (Lights Out).

In the works since 2002, the most recent update on the film’s production development happened in 2015 when Marvel’s Daredevil season two writer and showrunner Marco J. Ramirez was attached to pen the script. In 2008, production company Appian Way, owned by Leonardo DiCaprio, and producer Andrew Lazar (American Sniper) own the rights to the original Akira with Warner Bros. and are still tasked to produce it.

The synopsis for this new version of Akira follows closely to the original: “Set in a future city environment called New Manhattan, the sci-fi epic follows the leader of a bike gang who must save his best friend, who has been experimented on by the government causing him to develop dangerous and destructive psychokinetic powers.”