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Late last month, Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) was reported to be the "front-runner" for the lead role in the live-action adaptation of Akira, and now he's officially landed the role.
THR reports that Hedlund is in negotiations to star as Kaneda, the heroic leader of the Capsule biker gang in the post-apocalyptic city of New Manhattan (replacing Neo-Tokyo in the classic Japanese manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo). Eventually, Kaneda has to fight his fellow gang member Tetsuo who takes over the rival Clowns biker gang once his telekinetic powers awaken.
While Hedlund is the only cast member who has accepted an offer, other cast members could follow. Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter were offered the roles of The Colonel and Lady Miyako, respectively, at the end of last month, and, reportedly, Keira Knightley has also been approached for a role.
Serkis to play Caesar in Rise sequel; Emma Stone thinks He's F**king Perfect >> Posted 11.04.11 by Ryan -
After Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) dropped out of Warner Bros.' adaptation of Akira in May, Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Orphan) has taken the helm, THR reports.
Based on the series of Japanese Manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira has been in development since 2008. Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves was brought on board to rewrite the script in February, prompting the studio to finally start casting the movie. At the time, candidates for the two lead roles included Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, Chris Pine and Justin Timberlake, among others. Whether any of those actors are still a possibility is unknown, but the next step for Collet-Serra and Warners is likely casting.
Recently, Collet-Serra was one of two contenders to helm the 300 spin-off, 300: Battle of Artemisia. No word on whether Collet-Serra is still up for the project, but, likely, Akira will keep him too busy.
Posted 07.15.11 by Ryan -
Screenwriter Steve Kloves, who worked on seven of the eight Harry Potter movies, was brought in to polish the script for the upcoming live-action adaptation of Akira, Warner Bros. is looking to cast the two leads of the movie.
Based on the popular, Japanese manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo, follows Shotaro Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang in a dystopian Tokyo, who has to stop his best friend Tetsuo Shima after he gains psychic abilities that slowly send him over the edge. Akira was adapted into the, now classic, animated version in 1988.
who's up for the roles? >> Posted 03.22.11 by Ryan -
Having not directed a movie since 2001's From Hell, Allen and Albert Hughes scored a modest hit with The Book of Eli. With their reputation secure once more, Warner Brothers is looking to give them another job. Deadline Hollywood) reports that the twin directors are in talks to return to comic book adaptations with the live-action version of Akira, the Japanese manga comic that has already received a popular 1988 anime adaptation. Leonardo DiCaprio and Andrew Lazar are producing the movie through DiCaprio's Appian Way production company.
Like Eli, Akira is set in a dystopic future where protagonist Shotaro Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang, has to stop his best friend Tetsuo when his psychic powers start to drive him insane. The original manga covers six volumes, so Akira is intended to be two movies, with each movie covering three volumes. Eli writer Gary Whitta did the initial draft of the screenplay and told Comingsoon last December that he's not sure whether Iron Man and Children of Men screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are re-writing his script or starting from scratch.
...I haven't worked on it for about a year. The version I worked on was about going back to the source and doing the manga version. We were going to adapt the whole six-episode graphic novel. They don't keep you in the loop after you're done ... now I go on the internet to find out what's happening with it like everyone else.
Fans will be pleased to hear that Akira author, and director of the anime movie, Katsuhiro Otomo was at least remotely involved.
We got notes from [Otomo] and we kept in touch, but we never had a formal meeting or anything. The script I worked on was very, very preliminary. We did a couple of drafts of the script but, when I was there at least, it never got wrapped up to the point where I think he would get really hands on.
Akira is still scheduled for release sometime in 2011.
Posted 02.12.10 by Ryan