Keanu Reeves looking to play Kaneda in Akira remake

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The star has been meeting with Warner Brothers

Keanu Reeves could star in the long-gestating live-action remake of Akira .

Names as diverse as James Franco, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron have previously been linked to the English-language remake of the groundbreaking anime/manga.

Now there's word, via The Hollywood Reporter, that Reeves has held talks with Warner Bros about playing Kaneda, the biker-gang leader who tries to stop best friend Tetsuo unleashing his psychic powers.

Reeves hasn't yet been made an offer, but talks are said to be 'going well'. No doubt Keanu's Matrix credentials are making him a desirable lead, though he's a little older than the teenage Kaneda in the manga (and subsequent anime adap).

Albert Hughes ( The Book of Eli ) is directing the remake, which transplants the action from a post-apocalyptic neo-Tokyo to New Manhattan.

If Reeves does sign on, expect the dawdling Akira to move swiftly into production.

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum
Former Editor of Total Film magazine

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.