Garrett Hedlund to Star in Akira?

Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) was considered for a lead role in Akira even before Jaume Collet-Serra took over as director, but now it is being reported that he is officially in negotiations to play biker gang leader Kaneda. Variety says that while Hedlund has been the front-runner since last month, no financial offers could be made until a budget was in place.

Two weeks ago, Warner Bros. officially greenlit the project which has been in development for quite some time. Albert Hughes was originally on board as director, and Oprhan/Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra replaced him in July.

Akira is scheduled for a late February/early March filming start, with a budget of $90 million. With the deal almost done to bring Helund on board, Warner Bros. will need to look at casting the other male lead (Tetsuo). We'll have more information on the casting process over the coming weeks.

For those that have not seen the original anime film, here is a brief synopsis: “The story is set in the post-apocalyptic community of Neo-Tokyo. Tetsuo is a fiercely individualistic member of a scroungy motorcycle gang. The despotic authorities, the robot-like police, and even the cycle gang pursue Tetsuo when he’s bombarded with a new, insidious energy source that has rendered him telekinetic.”