A live-action American adaptation of the popular Japanese manga and animated feature film, Akira, has been on the way for a while now with Albert Hughes (of the Hughes Brothers) attached to direct.

Many rumors have swirled around the proposed film, but nothing quite solid has ever manifested yet. And that seems to be just fine with Akira fans everywhere, who have made it pretty clear that they don’t think a live-action adaptation would work and they don’t want to see it happen. Of course that’s just what they say now, and if a really well-done movie is made with the proper cast and an intriguing trailer is released, those very same fans would likely be singing a different tune.

Which brings us to today. Heath Vision is reporting that Warner Brothers has had some discussions with Keanu Reeves, star of the very successful Matrix franchise, about playing one of the lead roles in Akira, Kaneda. Keep in mind that Reeves isn’t even officially “in talks” for the role yet, but all signs point to he and Warner Bros. being very interested.

At the moment, it’s said that these basic discussions are going “well,” and that if Reeves were cast in the role, it would be a huge step in finding another huge star to come on board for the other lead character, Tetsuo.

Many names have been rumored for the movie over the past months, including names like James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Pattinson, and Michael Fassbender, but nothing has come of them. Leonardo DiCaprio, who will be a producer on the movie through his Appian Way banner, was also expected to star one upon a time.

Since the Keanu Reeves chats are not yet officially, all we really have here is a discussion. So, knowing how passionate you Akira fans are, what do you think of all of this? Would you be okay with Reeves playing Kaneda? If not, who would you NEED to play the lead roles in order for you to get excited about this movie?

Scream your thoughts.