With Akira’s engine still idling away in development hell, you might think Warner Bros. would shy away from trying to adapt any more popular manga/anime titles into movies for now. But you would be wrong! The studio has now teamed up with Peter Segal to produce and possibly direct a new take on Bleach.

Originally crated by Tite Kubo, Bleach follows teenager Ichigo, a lad with more than a few problems, including the ability to see ghosts. His family is attacked by a powerful, malevolent lost soul known as a “Hollow” and the incident leaves our hero with the ability to hunt the spiteful spirits. But instead of simply going on a rampage, Ichigo chooses to use his newly acquired powers to protect the innocent and help lost souls find peace.

Bleach has been wildly successful around the world, not least in Japan, where it has more than 75 million print copies in circulation. The manga title has already been adapted into a long-running anime series with 16 seasons under its belt. "I've always been a huge fan of Bleach and have great respect for its creator and the truly original and amazing world he has created in this manga," Segal told Variety.

While we’re interested to see what a man who has largely spearheaded comedies will do with something like this, it’s still at an early stage. So far all the project has is a writer, with Wrath Of The Titans’ Dan Mazeau taking the first crack at the script.