With Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures aiming to begin filming the live-action remake of the animated Japanese sci-fi ‘Akira’ in August, such Hollywood stars as Justin Timberlake, Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Pattinson (who stars in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1) are up for roles, www.collider.com is reporting. While the characters in the movie are supposed to be teens in the remake, which was written by Steve Kloves, Warner Bros. is still looking at older, well-known actors to anchor the film.
For the role of Tetsuo, Pattinson will be competing against ‘The Amazing Spider-man’s Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy. Timberlake and Phoenix will be competing against Chris Pine, ‘Tron: Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund and ‘X-Men: First Class’ Michael Fassbender.
The Hughes brothers are on board to direct ‘Akira,’ and will break the 6-volume magna comic book series into two movies. The magna follows the post-apocalypse Tokyo in 2019. A vast metropolis has been built on where the old Tokyo used to be before it was destroyed in World War III. The lives of Tetsuo and Kaneda, two teenage friends, are changed forever when Tetsuo begins to exhibit dormant paranormal abilities. The two fear that the government will try to stop Tetsuo to prevent another catastrophe.
Written by: Karen Benardello
