Posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 by Angie Han
[UPDATE: Variety has just confirmed that Garrett Hedlund is in negotiations to star as Kaneda in Jaume Collet-Serra's Akira. Original story follows.]
Speculation on who would be cast in the lead character of Kaneda has abounded just as long as reports of a live-action American remake of Akira have been floating around, with Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and James Franco among the names who’ve been rumored over the past few years. But as the film has inched closer to reality, with Warner Bros. giving the green light to the Jaume Collet-Serra-helmed incarnation last month, Tron: Legacy‘s Garrett Hedlund emerged as the frontrunner to star in the film. Now a new report says he’s just received a formal offer for the role. More details after the jump.
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Posted on Monday, October 24th, 2011 by Angie Han
The live-action, English-language remake of the Japanese animation classic Akira has suffered so many stops and starts over the years that I was beginning to think (/hope) it’d never happen. But now that Warner Bros. has officially greenlit the movie, it seems director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan) isn’t wasting any time getting things together. We heard last week that Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) was the frontrunner to star as Kaneda, and now it looks like a couple of other actors have been tapped as well. According to a new report, Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter have been offered roles in the film. More details after the jump.
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After a long and rumor-filled development hell, one of the most celebrated animated films of all time, Akira, has officially been greenlit for a live action remake. Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Unknown, House of Wax) will helm the newly-budgeted $90 million movie about the leader of a biker gang whose best friend is infected with an unstoppable power.
Shooting will begin in late February/early March 2012 according to Variety, who broke the news. They also report Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) is the front runner for the lead role of Kaneda. More after the jump.
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Is the live-action Akira dead, or is it not? That status has been a big question mark more than once in the past couple years as directors and screenwriters have tried to develop a new Americanized live-action version of the classic manga and anime by Katsuhiro Otomo.
Now we know that the new version is very much alive, as WB is looking to Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of Orphan and the Liam Neeson action thriller Unknown, to direct Akira. Read More »
The live-action version of Akira is currently without a director and may or may not be dead. (Again.) But it is floundering, at the very least, and when we see discussion of it by people involved in the production, we’re seeing the film referred to in the past tense. Probably a good sign, all things considered, even if I did have a strange interest in seeing how the project worked out.
We may never see a live-action version of the story, but can now get a little bit of an insider’s view from a concept artist that worked on the project, who recently revealed some of the designs he submitted. Read More »
This week, Dave, Devindra, and Adam wonder about the future of Akira and Uncharted, get psyched about David Fincher’s next film, and express their disgust for The Hangover: Part II. Special guest Katey Rich joins us from CinemaBlend.
You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us for our next live broadcast on Sunday, June 5th, at Slashfilm’s live page where we’ll be discussing X-Men: First Class.
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With innumerable mountains to climb on the way to remaking Akira, such as the dark storyline, escalating budget and lack of a star, the one constant the film had in recent months was a director. Now the remake of the classic Katsuhiro Otomo anime/manga is without a captain as director Albert Hughes (seen above right with his brother Allen) has reportedly left the film. This comes mere days after news broke that Keanu Reeves was the latest to pass on the lead role of Kaneda and that Warner Bros. had shut down a department working on pre-production. We ask again, what does this mean for Akira? Find out after the jump. Read More »
Neo won’t be Kaneda. JoBlo has exclusively learned that Keanu Reeves, who was offered the starring role in Warner Bros. Albert Hughes-directed, live action remake of Akira, has passed. They’ve also learned that Warners has shut down and fired much of a pre-visualization department that was working on the film. Does this mean Akira is dead? Not quite. Read more after the jump. Read More »
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