Leonardo di Caprio’s Hollywood adaptation of classic psychic blob anime Akira will apparently star James Edward Franco as Kaneda, with the previously reported Zac Efron having proven unavailable.

There will also apparently be not one but two movies, as the work has been split into two parts based on volumes 1-3 and 4-6 of the manga.

There is no suggestion his character will be called Kaneda, and as the story has been shifted to the streets of post-apocalyptic “New Manhattan” the only remaining connection to the original appears to the outline of the story (if left intact) and the title of the movie, which may no longer refer to any character left in the film.

------

Well, this is at least a step in the right direction, ignoring that Leonardo di Caprio is directing and the target audience is pg-13, amongst other blasphemous details. James Franco is a pretty good actor if you ask me, but I don't know if that can save the franchise from a live-action, Gundam-esque failure. Let's throw in the live-action Dragon Ball fail just for giggles.

via: sankaku