James Franco – Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira?

It seems like everyone wants a piece of James Franco since his Oscar nomination for 127 Hours (he’s also sharing Oscar-hosting duties). JustJared has recently revealed that Franco is in talks to star as Kaneda in Akira, the live-action film based on Katsuhiro Otomo’s six-volume cyberpunk manga series. The Book of Eli’s Albert Hughes is set to direct the Warner Brothers film, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way.

The original 80’s Akira series took place in a futuristic Tokyo but the setting in the movie has been changed to Manhattan. Franco would be the leader of a biker gang, Shotaro Kaneda (in the original series, anyway), who tries to help a friend that’s kidnapped by the government and develops physic powers after undergoing scientific experiments. Personally, I don’t think Franco looks like a Shotaro Kaneda so I’m wondering if the character’s name (and possibly the title) are going to be changed at some point or if we’re all going to have to push our imaginations really hard to see him as a Japanese hero.

Franco is also being mentioned as a possible replacement for Robert Downey, Jr. in the role of the wizard in Sam Raimi’s upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful, as well as looking into writing and directing an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian in 2012.

Do you think Franco go should go for Akira or focus on hooking up again with former Spider-Man partner Sam Raimi for a trip to Oz?