The upcoming Astro Boy movie promises more than visceral thrills. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, director David Bowers said it won’t shy away from some of the more tragic elements of the character’s origin.

"Astro Boy" dates back to a manga published by Osamu Tezuka during the 1950’s. The character was created by a scientist named Dr. Tenma, who programs Astro Boy with the memories of his dead son Toby. But unable to put away his grief, the scientist father sends the surrogate son away, leading to lots of action and adventure.

Bowers said the sad origin is necessary for emotional impact, and would not distract from the film’s light-hearted tone overall. "I was very explicit: if you're going to do an Astro Boy movie, you can't shy away from the more tragic elements," he said. "You’ve got to have valleys to have peaks. Emotionally, I wanted it to be a bit of a roller coaster and I wanted it to be moving as well, so I didn't want to shy away from what could be dark, but I think, ultimately, is very much light in our film."

He added that Imagi, being an independent studio, is able to deal with subject matter bigger studios might shy away from.

Bowers studied the manga, but said he added new elements as well. "There's also an awful lot of invention and things that are new because I think it's important from something like Astro Boy to keep moving forward." Bowers said. "Hopefully, I took the themes and the spirit of the Tezuka work and sort of woven new elements just to keep it fresh."

Nicolas Cage, who had bought the rights to the property years ago, provides the voice of Dr. Tenma. According to Bowers, Cage turned out to be surprisingly familiar with it, "even down to details on sound effects the way characters should talk and move," Bowers said. "I assume he was going to play Dr. Tenma. And he plays Dr. Tenma in our movie so that's good."

Astro Boy opens Friday. You can read the full interview here.