Live-Action Adaptation Of ‘Akira’ To Start Shooting Early 2012 – Jaume Collet-Serra To Direct & Garrett Hedlund To Star?

Variety bring word that Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s acclaimed 6-volume graphic novel ‘Akira’ has been greenlit, with Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Orphan) attached to direct for a late February/early March start on a $90 million budget. The report also goes on to say that ‘TRON: Legacy’ star Garrett Hedlund is considered a front-runner to play Kaneda. The cyberpunk sci-fi epic moves from Neo-Tokyo to a rebuilt New Manhattan where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experiments. I’d be pretty disappointed if Hedlund was cast as Kaneda if I’m honest, the original characters are young teenagers, a key-plot element is that they’re juvenile delinquent reform-school kids. It sounds like there’s been some serious tinkering with the story.

The development of the live-action adaptation of ‘Akira’ has hit several speed-bumps over the last several months, including Albert Hughes falling out as director. The budget seems to have been drastically reduced over time as well. I truly can’t see how they will be able to make this movie on a budget of $90 million, Katsuhiro Otomo’s original 1988 anime was epic in every sense of the word. I guess we’ll have to hope for the best. The likes of Brad Pitt, James Franco, Zac Efron, Keanu Reeves, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix had all been among the many rumored candidates to star as either Kaneda or Tetsuo over the last few years.