The ups and downs of getting a new version of Akira to the big screen have felt a lot like a rollercoaster (pardon the cliche), and like any rollercoaster, here’s the part where we all throw up at the end.
First it was Leonardo DiCaprio taking the lead role as Kaneda, and that died on the vine. Then we learned that the Hughes Brothers would be directing, it would be PG-13, and that the Hughes Brothers wouldn’t be involved in a pre-planned sequel. Now, it looks like the live-action version of the cult 1988 anime classic might be packed with Zac.
Efron has been offered the lead role according to Bloody Disgusting, and there’s just no way to spin this positively. The whole project seems like a crew attempting to cash in instead of treating the source material with any love or relevance. Efron might have the role inside of him, but it hasn’t come out on screen so far, and his acting is usually bland. Does he have it in him to stop a young girl from getting raped? Or to stop fake-tanning long enough to live in the seedy, drug-infested world that this demands?
