Warner Brothers and the Hughes Brothers (From Hell, The Book of Eli) are adapting Akira, specifically the first three volumes. Now a bit of casting news is starting to surface.  Morgan Freeman is rumored to be interested in playing The Colonel (who heads the government project using psychics as test subjects). No surprise there. He’s a good fit for the role — a character less malevolent than he first appears — and does he ever turn down a script where he gets to be the leader of a secret agency?

Now, the bad news (I mean really bad). There’s also a rumor going around that Zac Efron has been offered the role of Kaneda.  He’s a little too, um, precious to be the leader of a motorcycle gang, isn’t he? Not saying he’s gay, but he might buy “video head cleaner” by the case.  Not saying he’s gay, but I heard he really does read Playboy for the articles. Not saying he’s gay, but I’m pretty sure I saw him in a Bed, Bath, and Beyond during the Super Bowl. What was I doing there? Buying just the cutest little candles!

[via BloodyDisgusting and FirstShowing]