'INCEPTION' ACTOR SET FOR 'AKIRA' ADAPTION AS GARY OLDMAN DEPARTS THE PROJECT

Unless you've been living under a rock, been overly distracted or are are simply totally ignorant Katsuhiro Otomo's cult manga flick 'Akira' is receiving a live-action adaption treatment. Jaume Collet-Serra ('Orphan', 'The River') will be helming the flick and a number of names have been attached to the project to date. Helena Bonham Carter ('Alice in Wonderland'), Keira Knightley ('Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End') and Garrett Hedlund ('TRON: Legacy') are all linked currently and even 'Twilight' star Kristen Stewart is currently in talks. Brit actor Gary Oldman ('Leon') was also attached but it appears, according to Twitch, this is no longer the case. The role of the Colonel is now being offered to Asian actor Ken Watanabe ('Batman Begins'). Japanese actor Watanabe (below) played Saito in Christopher Nolan's incredible sci-fi flick 'Inception'.

"Part one of a two-part live action adaptation of the 1988 anime film, "Akira", in which the leader of a biker gang tries to save his kidnapped friend from a powerful supernatural experiment."

Ken Watanabe Set To Join 'Akira'?