Just recently it was reported that Keanu Reeves, star of the Matrix trilogy, was interested in playing the role of Kaneda in the Warner Brothers live-action remake of Akira, the classic Japanese animated film based on the 6-part manga of the same name.

At the time nothing was official but it was said that the two parties were having discussions about the possibility. Of course the fan reaction to this news was just as brutal as you’d expect it to be, and almost everyone lashed out not only at the very mention of the 46-year-old Reeves playing a teenage character in the movie, but the fact that they were even still considering making a movie in the first place.

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.

For many fans of the popular six-part Japanese manga or the 1988 animated film, the announcement of a live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo‘s Akira was a scary but quietly intriguing prospect. With today’s filmmaking technologies, there’s no doubt that a faithful and well-made film could be amazing to see, if put in the right hands.

Then came word that Albert Hughes and Allan Hughes would be stepping in to direct the movie for Warner Brothers and Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Appian Way Productions.

At that point, Children of Men, Iron Man, and Cowboys and Aliens writing duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby were working on the script, but it sounds like now a change has been made. In an interview with Collider, producer Andrew Lazar talked all things Akira. Among the things discussed, he shared that the new writer working on the project is Albert Torres. Also, that the first of the proposed two films would be based on parts 1-3 of the manga, and the second of course will focus on parts 4-6.

Warner Brothers is already in the business of adapting Japanese manga into live-action feature films having acquired the rights to Katsuhiro Otomo’s cherished Akira, and possibly even hiring the Hughes Brothers to direct (Read: The Hughes Brothers To Direct Two-Part Live-Action “˜Akira’ Movie). But the studio isn’t stopping there; it’s being reported that WB is currently working to obtain the rights to Bleach.

The manga, which is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo, revolves around a teenage boy named Ichigo Kurosaki who can see ghosts and one day accidentally obtains the abilities of a Soul Reaper (the Japanese personification of death, much like the Grim Reaper). With these new found abilities — similar to our own superhero stories — he must learn how to use them, protect the innocent from evil spirits known as Hollows, and guide spirits safely to the other side.

We’ve known for a while now that a live-action version of popular Japanese anime Akira was on the way through Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Appian Way Productions. Apart from knowing this, not many updates have been offered so far, but according to NY Mag’s Vulture Blog, a director — or directors — are about to be obtained.

Sources say that Warner Brothers is in negotiations with the Hughes Brothers, Allen and Albert, to take on the remake. The brothers are just coming off of a WB project with the post-apocalyptic drama, The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington. It would appear that the studio very much liked what the duo did with that property, and that it would best to scoop them right back up again here.