Akira Loses One Great Colonel But May Gain Another

Last month Warner and director Jaume Collet-Serra were pursuing Gary Oldman to be best friends with because he’s awesome to play The Colonel in Akira. Yesterday Oldman confirmed to Collider that Warner approached him but nothing’s official. Now Twitch — who’ve broken most of the Akira-related exclusives so far — reports Warner was unable to close the deal with Oldman and have offered the part to Ken Watanabe. You may remember him being badass in Inception and Batman Begins.

If Ken Watanabe signs, he will have the distinction of being the first actual Japanese person to have a major role in this film adapted from the classic Japanese manga. So that’s a step in the right direction, at least. We’ll see who they cast as Tetsuo before we get too excited. Speaking of pulse-pounding excitement, we reached out to potential Akira co-star Kristen Stewart for a reaction to this casting news:

[Hat tip and an old man filled with regret to LatinoReview.]