‘Paprika’: Cathy Yan To Produce & Direct A Live-Action Series Adaptation For Amazon

Cathy Yan is at a good place in her career. She’s got the acclaimed indie, “Dead Pigs.” She’s ventured out and directed a superhero film, “Birds of Prey.” And she even has earned herself an Emmy nomination for her work directing on the newest season of “Succession.” Now, it appears she’s found her next big project, a live-action adaptation of the acclaimed novel-turned-anime “Paprika.”

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According to Deadline, Cathy Yan is set to executive produce and direct a live-action adaptation of “Paprika.” The source material is the 1993 sci-fi novel of the same name by author Yasutaka Tsutsui. However, most people are probably familiar with the 2000s anime adaptation by director Satoshi Kon. That film would go on to be a modern classic in the world of anime and even is said to have inspired (whether Christopher Nolan admits it or not) the film “Inception.” “Paprika” tells the story of a world where dream therapy is very real and therapists will hack their way into your dreams to help treat mental illness.

As mentioned, Yan is probably best known for her film projects, “Dead Pigs” and “Birds of Prey.” However, most recently she worked on “Succession.” Her next project is a feature film titled “The Freshening.” That film is said to be a sci-fi comedy/love story. It’s unclear when production will begin on that.

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In addition to the anime adaptation of “Paprika,” a live-action film version was said to be in development more than a decade ago. At that time, Wolfgang Petersen was attached to direct the feature. Obviously, nothing came from it. 

Hivemind and Amazon Studios are the production companies behind the new “Paprika” adaptation. A timetable for when we might see the series hit streaming is still unknown.