Mr. Sulu Is Against Akira Whitewash Casting

George Takei is going through something of a revival of his career lately in part with his involvement with the Howard Stern Show as their celebrity announcer. He's best known as the original Mr. Sulu from Star Trek and champion of Gay Rights. George recently Tweeted his support for the Facebook group "Don't Whitewash AKIRA!" petitioning the decision by Warner Bros. to cast white actors for known Japanese roles.

While I had been open to the idea of casting some Western actors. The relocation to Neo-Manhattan and renaming main characters (Western names) aspect sounded weird to me. The fact that none of the rumored actors being offered roles were even Asian was sort of disgusting. The the rumored actors include James Franco, Zac Efron, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Andrew Garfield, Garrett Hedlund, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake, Joaquin Phoenix Robert Pattinson and Mila Kunis.

Appian Way, Leo DiCaprio's production company could be at fault here as they own the rights and likely have creative control on the film. They've mentioned previously that they want to have a completely Japanese adaptation of Ninja Scroll, so why not Akira? I think the real fans of Akira should voice their opinions and sign the petition. Should we really have to settle for a sub-par adaptation ignoring it's original Japanese roots? Let Warner Bros./Appian Way know your frustration before they start production.