Kristen Stewart Offered Role in Akira
Posted 11.16.11 by Ryan
According to Twitch, the latest casting offer in the upcoming Akira adaptation is out to actress Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga), with Warners reportedly wanting the actress for the part of Kei, a powerful medium who eventually becomes the love interest for Kaneda.
While the Twitch report says it's only an offer, Deadline reports Stewart is in advanced talks for the role. This would put the actress in line for her third potential franchise, after Twilight and, possibly, Snow White and the Huntsman, which is reportedly planned as a trilogy and could move forward with the sequels should the movie find success next June.
Casting has been moving fairly rapidly, now that Warner Bros. has officially given the greenlight to the adaptation of Akira for an early 2012 start.
Earlier this month, Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) was cast in the lead protagonist role of Kaneda, and the studio is looking for the right actor to play the antagonist of the movie, Tetsuo, with Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Alden Ehrenreich (Tetro) reportedly in contention for the role. Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter were also offered roles in the movie, but are yet to be confirmed.
Akira would also see a sequel should it find success at the box office, as the story is based on a six-volume, epic Japanese manga (comic book) by Katsuhiro Otomo about two motorcycle gang leaders who become bitter enemies after one realizes he has telekinetic powers. The plan is to combine the first three volumes of the manga into the first movie, saving the latter three volumes for the sequel. If there's any criticism to be given to the landmark 1988 anime adaptation its that squeezing the complex story of all six volumes into one movie was too much.
Akira was adapted by a variety of screenwriters, the most recent of which was Steve Kloves (Harry Potter) whose work on the script got Warners interested in moving forward with the project. Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) will direct the movie, while Leonardo DiCaprio will produce the movie through his Appian Way production company.