The road to the big-screen is often a perilous one and it appears Warner Bros.' cinematic adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s graphic novel Akira is no exception to the rule. Albert Hughes is now expected to leave the production this week for pastures new. There doesn't appear to be any bad feeling and the exit seems more down to not being able to move ahead fast enough with the project and will simply transition to another Warners project.
Sources have told Deadline that there is still massive interest in the project and the premise - twenty years old this year... see Impact's new cover! - so while this may be a temporary stumbling block, it is unlikely to derail it completely. However there are still casting issues. Keanu Reeves was a name being mentioned with the Tetuso role but that now looks unlikely. The expectation is that the likes of James McAvoy (currently Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class) and Twilight's Robert Pattinson may now be back in the running, with names such as Michael Fassbender (currently Magneto in X-Men: First Class... hmmmm, now there's a rematch!) and Star Trek's Chris Pine possibly in contention for the character of Kaneda.
Director and cast annoucements are expected later in the year and if current plans go forward, there could be two Akira movies, each covering three books from the original run.
