Sorry, people who love both Gary Oldman and Akira: the two will reportedly not merge. But the good news is, another tenacious figure from Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe has been offered the The Colonel role that Oldman turned down: Ken Watanabe.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the developing remake of Akira, the 1988 anime sci-fi feature. So far, Garrett Hedlund is still the only actor officially cast—he’ll be playing Kaneda, the hero of the story and young biker who becomes involved in the quest to stop his newly psychokinetic best friend Tetsuo from destroying the city.
Others still in question for Akira roles include Kristen Stewart, Keira Knightley, Alden Ehrenreich and Helena Bonham Carter.
Those looking forward to the remake (there are quite a few purists out there who aren’t on board with a live-action take on the celebrated film) might be disappointed by Oldman’s dismissal of the role. However, Watanabe has a pretty impressive resume under his belt; the actor was arguably the strongest player in Nolan’s Inception.
As news continues to accumulate about Akira, we all have our hopes, and our doubts. But if Watanabe signs on for The Colonel, I think we can all at least nod in subtle approval.
Source: Twitch
