Forget all the rumors you heard about
Zac Efron starring in the big screen adaptation of
Akira. After a rewrite by
Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves that reportedly has “studio brass excited,” the movie is set for an August start date with a
short list of names up for the roles of Tetsuo and Kaneda that’ll raise eyebrows (and maybe even some anger and disgust in a few of you, too). For Tetsuo, a script has been handed to
Robert Pattinson,
Andrew Garfield and
James McAvoy. Five actors are being considered for Kaneda:
Garrett Hedlund,
Michael Fassbender,
Chris Pine,
Justin Timberlake and
Joaquin Phoenix. As if that group of non-Asian actors isn’t disappointing enough, plans are to split the series into two parts with each part covering three books.
--Derrick Deane