Tron Legacy star to sign on to Akira?

Reports are coming in that TRON LEGACY star Garrett Hedlund is in talks to sign on as Kaneda in the long awaited AKIRA remake.

Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1982 classic is rightfully known as one of the greatest anime films of all time, a trippy, scary distopian future combined with done truly entertaining cyberpunk body horror. It’s the kind of property that’s so big and so weird that animation seems the only way to do it justice, but this live-action remake has been in talks for years.

Now however it seems that Warner Bros. is rolling forward with Jaume Collet-Serra (UNKNOWN) directing from a script by screenwriter Steve Kloves (HARRY POTTER). Keanu Reeves has been thrown around to star as Kanesda for years but he’s really too old for the role now, since the character is the young leader of a biker gang.

The budget has just been approved so the offers are going out. Hedlund’s not the only actor that’s been approched, but he’s the only one that’s shown interest. Other people approached for roles include Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman and Keira Knightley. Looking like a very white adaptation, isn’t it? So much for Neo-Tokyo. 

What do you folks think- can you see Hedlund in the role?