After falling off the fast-track and looking like it was going to be canned completely, there’s recently been a lot of new momentum behind Warner’s plans to take the classic anime/manga Akira live action, with the Hughes brothers attached to direct and Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves brought in to handle the script.
Now they’re looking for a cast, and it seems that currently just about everyone who’s young and male is on the studio’s wishlist. Deadline reports on the shortlists for the two major male roles, saying Warner Bros has given the script to Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy for the part of Tetsuo, while Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix are being looked at for Kaneda. It’s a wide range of ages and looks for both parts, suggesting the studio is still trying to find the direction they want to take Akira.
The hope is to turn Akira into two movies, each covering three of the books in the manga series. However while the books aren’t quite as strange as the classic 1988 anime, it’s still pretty weird, and will probably have to be toned down for the screen.
With the studio now actively looking for lead actors, expect more casting news soon.