Warner Bros. adaptation of Akira has potentially found its star -- and, well, for a movie as exciting as this, it's about the most boring casting rumor we've heard yet. The Hollywood Reporter and Vulture both report that the studio has reached out to Keanu Reeves for the lead role; yes, another white dude starring in a very non-white movie to, assumedly, make the $230 million budgeted film an easier sell. Reeves reportedly beat out a bunch of other uninspired white guy choices for the role of Kaneda, including Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Franco and Robert Pattinson.
In the film, the Japan-set story will be westernized, just as the lead role has been, changing its setting from Neo-Tokyo to New Manhattan. The story will still, we think, follow Kaneda as he rushes to save his friend Tetsuo from a world-destroying government project. And, hey, maybe this casting decision will launch Reeves into a career of being celebrated by cyberpunk culture as the actor who played one of science fiction's greatest heroes; because, you know, he hasn't done that already, already or already.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Vulture