This damn Akira movie is indeed happening, whether you like it or not. Several people have passed along the casting call that has gone out for the lead roles of Tetsuo and Ky. (Garrett Hedlund is reportedly the frontrunner to play Kaneda.)
According to the character breakdowns for Tetsuo and Ky, they're looking for actors of "any ethnicity," though based on what we've seen happen in other movies, that's not much cause to be hopeful.
Here's some more information:
AKIRA
Feature Film
SAG
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Feature Film Writer: David James Kelly
Producers: Appian Way
Casting Director: Ronna Kress
SAG Casting Assistant: Hannah d?Angerio
Start Date: March 2012
Location: Vancouver
[ TETSUO ]
Male; any ethnicity, 20-25 years old; strung out, intense, street rat. (LEAD)
[ KY ]
Female; 20-30 years old; any ethnicity; tough, sexy, strong willed, street savvy. (LEAD)
Actors, want to be Tetsuo or Ky? View the casting call here (it requires a free registration to log in). Am I the only one who thinks casting a white actor as a character named "Tetsuo" would be kind of silly?
The gears are in motion on this thing, and as I've stated before, the idea of a whitewashed, American-transplanted version Akira is completely pointless. But if this is really going to happen, would it be a good idea to fill as many roles as possible with Asian American faces? Perhaps.
