Keanu Reeves In Talks To Play Kaneda In Akira

Keanu Reeves In Talks To Play Kaneda In Akira

As WB scramble to cast Albert Hugh's live action Akira flick with 2 leads, the latest name to emerge for gang leader Kaneda is love him or loathe him Keanu Reeves. Click for the details..

By MarkCassidy - May 06, 2011 10:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Akira
Source: THR

Since the rumor that Zac Effron was in talks to play Kaneda hit, we have had several more actors churned up, some of them by the rumor mill and some with genuine ties to Warner Bros live action adaptation of Akira. Now The Hollywood Reporter reveal that the latest big name in connection with the lead role is Keanu Reeves..



Actors ranging from James Franco and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Robert Pattinson and Michael Fassbender have circled the project in some form or fashion as the studio sought to find an A-list lead.

Now comes word that Reeves has held talks with the studio, with whom he already made the massively successful Matrix movies, for the part of Kaneda, the gang leader. Reeves doesn't yet have an offer for the role, but we hear the talks with his reps have been going well.


Now, word is that this is very early days and may of course not happen. But one thing is for sure, WB have done away with any notion of keeping these characters teenagers...or even relatively young men! Accept that, and how does Reeves look as Kaneda? Well, I actually think the man can be pretty good sometimes and all you need do is look at The Matrix to see what a great sci-fi leading man he can be. But I dunno about this. If he is cast, and you still give a damn about this movie, who would make a good Tetsuo?

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Dynamo
Dynamo - 5/6/2011, 10:46 AM
Oh god no...
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/6/2011, 10:50 AM
if there is ever a time when a movie shouldn't get made,its now.
jazzman
jazzman - 5/6/2011, 10:57 AM
f**k this project big time

Bigbywolf
Bigbywolf - 5/6/2011, 11:07 AM
Why does Keanu keep getting linked to anime characters that he is completely wrong for?
ComradeGrey
ComradeGrey - 5/6/2011, 11:09 AM
the [frick]?
spidey1994
spidey1994 - 5/6/2011, 11:10 AM
Aint he too old for Kandea?
VictorHugo
VictorHugo - 5/6/2011, 11:18 AM
It must have an all japanese cast, just like "Space Battleship Yamato".

spider1489
spider1489 - 5/6/2011, 11:24 AM
Too old, ummm fail, JGL would be interesting
Fogs
Fogs - 5/6/2011, 11:29 AM
DarthTesla
DarthTesla - 5/6/2011, 11:29 AM
Big Keanu fan, but just NO.

I loved the original manga and anime, and is it seriously impossible to get some ACTUAL Japanese actors for these roles????

Who's playing Tetsuo? Jesse Eisenberg?
SPACEDout
SPACEDout - 5/6/2011, 11:34 AM
[frick] no this is a bunch of hollywood bullshit [frick] [frick] [frick]
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 5/6/2011, 11:34 AM
terrible
WellDrawn
WellDrawn - 5/6/2011, 11:38 AM
At this point we should all come to terms with the fact that there will be adult American actors starring in this. Yeah it sucks, but lets face it; aside from having Zach Snyder do a shot for shot 18 hour long translation of the Graphic Novels, the studios are going to cut corners, water it down for the masses, and ultimately disappoint the hardcore Akira fans among us.
WEJAlen20
WEJAlen20 - 5/6/2011, 11:39 AM
magicprime
magicprime - 5/6/2011, 11:48 AM
st1s
st1s - 5/6/2011, 11:48 AM
I went to school with Keanu in Toronto, he was a grade earlier than me and I just turned 48 (god am I old!), so he might be a little senior for the role. Nonetheless, he is a decent guy, especially compared to some of the egos in Hollywood.
frigidgiantinthe716
frigidgiantinthe716 - 5/6/2011, 11:49 AM
@marvel72. Completely agree. the Hughes bros. Blow sax like Kenny g. They got the characters all wrong. Boycott
imnotwearinghockeypants
imnotwearinghockeypants - 5/6/2011, 11:55 AM
I've said it from the beginning: this movie should never be made.
thalidomide
thalidomide - 5/6/2011, 12:11 PM
but i thought we was going to play the cowboy bebop character?
Starlight
Starlight - 5/6/2011, 12:13 PM
I would like him to play the character... Probably JGL has higher chances due to Inception and the next Batman movie.
jazzman
jazzman - 5/6/2011, 12:15 PM
they cant tell me their is nooooooooo Japanese-American or Asian-American actors to play them characters.

fullmetal
fullmetal - 5/6/2011, 12:23 PM
THIS GUY IS SUCH A TOOL!!! I KNEW HOLLYWOOD WOULD DO THIS AFTER THE OUTCRY FOR POSSIBLY CASTING A WHITE ACTOR AS THE LEAD ROLE.....THEY RUN TO THE HALF WHITE/HALF ASIAN ACTOR!!! LOL! TYPICAL BULL SH IT! F UCK THIS MOVIE! STAY HOME AND WATCH THE ORIGINAL
Bandrews1
Bandrews1 - 5/6/2011, 12:31 PM
Oh [frick] you hollywood.
dnno1
dnno1 - 5/6/2011, 12:37 PM
@fullmetal - so you wanted them to mis-cast a white actor for the role?
Starlight
Starlight - 5/6/2011, 12:50 PM
What's the point in casting an ASIAN actor if they're going to make the movie happen in New York any wayt? It doesn't make any sense. If you want an ASIAN actor, then just make the movie happen in Tokyo as the original.
fullmetal
fullmetal - 5/6/2011, 12:57 PM
@ dnno1

no, man! how did you make that assessment? what? i'm going to stay at home and watch the beloved original because i wanted them to cast a white guy? LOL! you're funny bro..i want them to get a 100% Japanese actor...no....wait...i want them to throw this disrespectful idea out the window...that's what i want!!! better off re-releasing the original on IMAX
ManThing
ManThing - 5/6/2011, 1:07 PM
lol
TorturedXGenius
TorturedXGenius - 5/6/2011, 1:11 PM
f Uck this whitewashing bullshit
AlexdoxA
AlexdoxA - 5/6/2011, 1:13 PM
[frick] Keanu!!! come on... he's such a miscast!!! bring in Denzel!!!
Illuminatus
Illuminatus - 5/6/2011, 1:14 PM
Here is how much money this movie will make:


Ceejay
Ceejay - 5/6/2011, 1:21 PM
Yes this movie should NEVER be made but it's gonna go ahead and its gonna be set in the USA with a bunch of American actors in it. To be honest if they're gonna do this, then I'd rather it doesn't be an exact replica of the comic with just teenage yanks in the roles. The more different they make this the more I can keep it apart from the original. And if they have to get young actors who aint teens then Keanu is waaaaaaay too old for this. I'd go with some young up and coming actors like..


Sean Faris for Kaneda:
Why, becasue he looks like Tom Cruise when Cruise was still a young hotshot and the guy did pretty well in his first action movie 'Never Back Down'.


Justin Chatwin for Tetsuo:
Why, becasue he has a huge head like Tetsuo and displayed it well in that terrinble Dragonball Z movie as Goku. He looks el-weedo enough to play the kid who gets bullied then hits back once he has power.


Jamie Chung as Kay:
She was great in the crap flick Suckerpunch and I feel they should retain some oriental element for the adaptation plus she's trained in acrobatic martial arts for those scenes where the old kids use her as a medium.


Bruce Willis as the Colnel:
Bruce is now old and seasoned enough to pull this off whether they chose teens or not in the main parts. But convincing him to do something like this is another thing!


Orlando Bloom as Ryu:
Lord knows why but ladies love this guy and since Kay's supposed to have a crush on Ryu in the rebellion then this will serve the purpose of getting that element in the audience to buy it. Shame he can't act for toffee!


Toby Jones as Mr Nezu
He was great as Truman Capote and he's small enough to play the part perfectly once he grows his hair long and grey again.


Logan Lerman as AKIRA:
It's scary how quickly he's grown up in movies but this kid still looks young enough to look like he was dissected and sealed in jars in his youth only to re-assemble once they break him free and destroy half the city!
Illuminatus
Illuminatus - 5/6/2011, 1:25 PM



soaponapope
soaponapope - 5/6/2011, 1:41 PM
i don't believe this for a second. he's far, far too old to be kaneda
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 5/6/2011, 1:52 PM
FAILURE!!!!!!!;D
Bartman87
Bartman87 - 5/6/2011, 2:18 PM
Has Hollywood ever made a good anime live action movie it just can't translate well
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