Ken Watanabe is the leading actor currently wanted for the role of the Colonel in Akira, after much speculation that Gary Oldman was originally wanted for the part.
After a series of controversial casting decisions, including that of Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund, Watanabe would be the first Japanese actor cast in the Japanese-influenced film, next to an all-Caucasian cast.
Earlier today, an entire list was released as to who may be cast as Tetsuo, and all of the other casting decisions have been made pretty recently. It seems as if almost all of the casting will be complete very soon, and we will officially know which actors are playing which characters.
Ken Watanabe is a terrific actor, and though I don’t know much about the Akira material, I don’t see how his addition to the cast could to anything but help the film.
What do you think? Would Ken Watanabe be good as the Colonel? Let us know what you think in the comments.