That didn't take very long at all. Fans of Japanese manga Akira are already up in arms about the report that Warner Bros. is looking to cast the film from a list of Caucasian actors that includes Robert Pattinson, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Fassbender. Who could have seen this one coming?
Racebending -- a website which, as Moviefone points out, was launched in 2009 for the sole purpose of attacking The Last Airbender for its white-washed casting -- has created an online petition for Akira fans to sign as a way for them to express outrage at Warner Bros. for the race-inappropriate casting. The key passage:
We would like to present the numbers from this petition to the studio to show them that all media consumers -- not just Akira fans and not just Asian Americans -- support keeping casting Asian Americans in the lead roles in Akira.
Good message, but there is one slight problem: As Movieline's Brian Clark pointed out, the Akira adaptation takes place in "New Manhattan" and not the "Neo-Tokyo" of the original source, meaning perhaps Japan isn't as important to this film as one might assume. Still, if this petition gains steam, don't be surprised if Warner Bros. quickly changes those character names at the very least. Put me down for "Tuts and Dan."
ยท Fans Already Protesting the White-Washing of 'Akira' Cast [Moviefone]