Zac Efron will NOT be in AKIRA!

Thank you! Not long ago a rumor hit the net that High School Musical star Zac Efron was up for the lead role in Albert Hughes' live-action film adaptation of Akira. Today we've learned that that's no longer the case. Efron is NOT in the running to star in the film, so we can all take a deep breath and relax a little, though we still have that PG-13 rating to be concerned about.

According to DigitalSpy:

Zac Efron is reportedly not in the running to star in a live-action adaptation of Akira... Representatives for the Hughes Brothers, who are directing the movie, have said that the rumors about Efron playing the lead role in Akira are "not true".  

As far as what's been reported, Albert Hughes is the only Hughes brother involved with directing the first of two films. So I'm not sure if the site has some new information or if they just assume that both Hughes Brothers are directing. It's not really important, what is important is that Efron will have nothing to do with this live-action film adaptation of Akira being produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.