Even though live action adaptations of anime titles have been proving troublesome beasts to wrangle onto to screens (witness Warner Bros.’ titanic struggle with Akira), that isn’t stopping filmmakers from trying. Now Snakes on a Plane director David R Ellis is the latest name attached to a take on Yasuomi Umetsu's 1998 movie Kite.

Set in a future state where the economy has collapsed and crime is rife (so it doesn’t even need to be the future, does it?), Kite focuses on a young woman who goes on the hunt for her cop father’s killer, working with his ex-partner, but never suspecting that he might be the man behind the murder. And there’s also a corrupt security force making big money by trafficking in girls…

The anime itself is known for its graphic depictions of sex and violence, though it’s not known how much of that will be transplanted to the new version. "I am a big fan of Yasuomi Umetsu and honoured to bring the amazing world of Kite to the big screen," Ellis tells Variety. He’s not the first person to make the attempt, though: back in 2006, Mexican directors Jorge and Javier Aguilera were tasked with the job and Rob Cohen was producing the movie, but nothing has since come of it. Perhaps Ellis – whose most recent film, Shark Night 3D, will bite into our cinemas on September 30 – will be the man to make it work.