Zac Efron 'to play lead in Akira remake'

He is the blue-eyed star of the High School Musical series and dream date for teenage girls across the globe. It is a classic cult Japanese anime and manga comic which maintains a heady reputation among fans of the genres more than 20 years after its initial release. Now, according to reports in the blogosphere, the terms Zac Efron and Akira may become forever connected after the actor was touted to star in a planned Hollywood remake.

In what would be one of the strangest casting decisions of all time, Efron is reportedly in line for the leading role of Shotaro Kaneda in Warner Bros's live-action English language version, according to both the Bloody Disgusting and Slash Film blogs. The project is being lined up as a two-part adaptation, with From Hell's Hughes brothers set to direct. Bloody Disgusting also reports that Morgan Freeman has been offered the role of The Colonel, the head of a sinister government project in the original film and comic book series.

Akira was originally a 2,182-page manga epic which was adapted by director Katsuhiro Otomo into a two-hour film. Despite its complex, densely packed storyline, it has gained huge popularity over time since its release and helped to fuel the growth of anime's popularity outside of Japan.

The Hollywood version would presumably transport the action from the original's Japanese setting to a US location. In Otomo's film, the action takes place in Neo-Tokyo, a city built on an artificial island in Tokyo bay following the destruction of the original Tokyo in an explosion 30 years previously. Akira is the name of a young boy whose powers led to the disaster. Kaneda, the role apparently snapped up by Efron, is a biker and gang leader who discovers that his childhood friend Tetsuo is developing similar destructive powers.

Efron has somewhat hedged his bets since the most recent High School Musical film, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which appeared in 2008. He has appeared in teen-friendly fare such as 17 Again and the recent The Life and Death of Charlie St Cloud, and also more adult-oriented movies such as Me and Orson Welles.