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Hollywood Reporter: Warner Looks at 2 for Akira's Tetsuo

The Hollywood Reporter entertainment trade magazine reported on Friday that Ezra Miller and Alden Ehrenreich are among the top contenders for the pivotal role of Tetsuo in Warner Brothers' live-action film adaptation of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Akira manga. The magazine describes Tetsuo as "a young man with telekinetic abilities who becomes a dangerous weapon."

18-year-old Miller starred in the independent thriller We Need To Talk About Kevin and co-starred in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the 2012 film that Stephen Chbosky is directing from his own novel. He also appeared in recurring roles in the television series Californication and Royal Pains.

21-year-old Ehrenreich starred in Francis Ford Coppola's drama film Tetro in 2009. He also appeared in television guest roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Supernatural.

Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) is in talks for the other lead role of Kaneda, which The Hollywood Reporter described as Tetsuo's "older brother and leader of a motorcycle gang" in Warner's film. The Twitch website and The Hollywood Reporter previously said that Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech), Gary Oldman (Dark Knight trilogy), and Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean films) have all been approached for roles.

Another trade magazine, Variety, reported that Jaume Collett-Serra (Unknown, Orphan, House of Wax) is set to begin directing the live-action film adaptation of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Akira manga in late February or early March. According to Variety, the film's current story goes as follows: "Set in New Manhattan, the cyberpunk sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experiments."

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.

Images via IMDb