Alternate History: How Keanu Reeves Might Have Saved Akira – And Himself [Humor]

By Arturo R. García

By now, the Akira live-action adaptation is threatening to turn into the Spider-Man musical of ill-advised Americanizations. Not only has Legendary Pictures, which was supposed to co-finance the two-film project with Warner Brothers, reportedly ended its’ involvement, but WB President Jeff Rubinov, either too desperate or too myopic to care about fans’ casting concerns, allegedly personally offered the lead role of Kaneda to 46-year-old Keanu Reeves.

This isn’t the first time Reeves has been connected to a movie based on an iconic Japanese story; for a couple of years, he was reportedly up for the part of Spike Spiegel in a Cowboy Bebop adaptation. But what would have happened if somebody – somebody with access to, let’s say, a certain time-traveling phone-booth – had enabled Reeves to play Kaneda, the teen anti-hero, when he truly looked the part? How would the news clippings from those pre-Internet days have read? As the great Vin Scully likes to say, the saddest words of tongue and pen are these:

What might have been …

September 1989:

HOLLYWOOD (AP) – Following the surprise success of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, young Keanu Reeves made an equally surprising choice for a follow-up project, announcing at a press conference today that he had been tapped to star in a live live-action adaptation of Akira, a Japanese comic-book – or manga, as they’re known in Japan – that became a cult hit on U.S. shores as both a comic and an animated movie (aka anime).

Reeves, 21, will be spurning a sure-fire hit sequel for three years’ worth of work on the project, set to unfold over two films, which will be shot back-to-back in and around Japan. He will play Sho Kaneda, a teenage delinquent who finds himself fighting a government conspiracy in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo.

The production itself is something unique: a partnership between Delaurentis Entertainment Group (DEG), the studio behind Bill & Ted, and the AKIRA Committee, the alliance of Japanese entertainment companies behind the animated film. Kathsushiro Otomo, who wrote the screenplay while working to complete his original comic-book version, was retained as a consultant on the American script – though one key condition specified the story would remain based in Japan.

Unconfirmed reports say a mysterious “man in black” helped broker the landmark deal between DEG – which had been reeling financially before Bill & Ted’s success – and the AKIRA Committee. Though DEG and committee officials once again rebuffed those reports at their joint press conference, Reeves was seen smiling to himself when the issue was brought up.

Later, when a reporter noted that Kaneda’s look – mop-topped hair and red jacket – was similar to the outfits Reeves wore while playing Ted Preston, he replied, “Yeah, so I’ve been told,” then laughed.

Attempts to reach Reeve’s Bill & Ted co-star, Alex Winter, for comment were unsuccessful.

February 1992

“I feel like I’ve aged ten years,” Reeves tells me before sipping his second Ramune Soda, a taste he says he picked up while filming Akira from, of all people, venerable Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who he met while Mifune was filming a cameo appearance.

“It’s barely been three,” I reply.

“Things move faster over there. Must be the trains,” Reeves says, and flashes a confident smile. This role, he tells me, will be the one to break him out of the burgeoning shadow of Bill & Ted forever.

“You always worry that you’re going to get associated with a certain type of role,” he says after polishing off the Ramune. “I liked Ted as a character, and I loved working with Alex, but I didn’t want to run the risk of being ‘Whoa’ Guy forever, y’know?”

I ask Reeves if he’s heard from the reclusive Mr. Winter. He nods, with a hint of sadness, no.

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