Garret Hedlund Is Kaneda in AKIRA Remake

After as wide a search as any blockbuster in recent memory, Warner Bros and director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Orphan) have settled on Tron Legacy actor Garret Hedlund to star as Kaneda in the live-action Akira remake. Variety say Hedlund is in talks for the role and it's a fresh start for the actor to prove that he can actually sell an expensive tentpole after Tron Legacy didn't meet Disney's expectations. For the controversial film adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo€™s manga Akira, the setting has changed from the futuristic Neo-Tokyo to a €˜rebuilt€™ New Manhatten with the idea of Hollywoodising and watering down the themes and turning it into a PG-13 rated fare aimed at American audiences (though they have kept the same monikers, weird!). Steve Kloves, writer of the last seven Harry Potter movies and also of the planned adaptation of Stephen King's epic The Stand, was brought in to re-draft the screenplay in February. Also coming over from the Potter franchise are Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter who have reportedly been offered the roles of The Colonel and Lady Miyako. No word on who will play Tetsuo. The first film will adapted from the first three in the Manga series with the hope of setting up a two film franchise and budgeted at $230 million. Serra is the genre filmmaker who replaced Allen Hughes (co-director of From Hell & Book of Eli) when he fell out with Warner Bros president Jeff Robinov.