Amazon Studios is ready to step into the world of dreams! Cathy Yan has been tapped to executive produce and direct a new live-action series adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s novel, Paprika! This news comes from Deadline.
Yan will be teaming up with her producing partner, Ash Sarohia (Son of a Hitman), who will also be serving as executive producer. Joining them will be Masi Oka (Bullet Train) and Jason F. Brown (The Witcher). The series will be made for Amazon Studios and Hivemind. Yan is best known for directing the critically acclaimed Birds of Prey in 2020, which focused on the colorful Harley Quinn.
Originally published in 1993, Paprika follows Atsuko Chiba, a scientist who uses her alter ego Paprika to enter the dreams of mental illness patients in order to treat them. This is done with specialized technology developed by her colleague, Kōsaku Tokita. But when one of the special devices is stolen, the world of dreams is sent into chaos. It becomes a race against the clock in order to save both the awake world and the dream world.
The Other Worlds of Paprika
Paprika has been subjected to several adaptations over the decades, including two separate mangas. In 2006, director Satoshi Kon released an animated film adaptation based on the book. Kon, praised previously for his use of surreal imagery and gripping suspense in previous projects like Paranoia Agent and Perfect Blue, blended the lines between dream and reality for Paprika through animation.
Satoshi Kon’s Paprika was distributed through Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. Initially meant to screen in two theaters (New York City and Los Angeles), the film expanded to over 80 screens across the country. At the time, it was very rare for an anime film to have such a wide release theatrically. Critics praised the colorful, mesmerizing animation and powerful imagery. Christopher Nolan would later come under criticism for appropriating certain elements from Paprika and inserting them into his 2010 film, Inception.
In 2010, Wolfgang Petersen (The NeverEnding Story, Das Boot, Troy) announced that he had purchased the rights to make a live-action adaptation of Paprika. In an interview with MTV, Petersen stated that he saw the film and was blown away by the visuals. Petersen had reportedly hired a young writer to adapt the screenplay, but make a few adjustments.
"We open it up a little bit more so it’s more accessible for a wide audience, but it comes a little bit sort of "Matrix" feel. Not like Matrix but sort of the size of it all, the scope of it all. So that it becomes more of a film for a mainstream audience."
Since the initial announcement, no news has come of the project, and there probably never will be. Petersen sadly passed away in mid-August after struggling with pancreatic cancer.
Like Paprika herself, Tsutsui’s book has been jumping from page to illustration to the silver screen throughout the years. This will be the first time Paprika will be jumping into the small screen for streaming, but now seems like a perfect time to revisit the story. After all, who doesn’t love to travel the dream worlds?