Last month, we reported that actor Gary Oldman was offered the Colonel role in Akira. Today we have word that the actor couldn't come to terms with Warner Bros. for the role, which lead the studio to offer Colonel to Ken Watanabe.

We don't know much about the Colonel character, but it is believed he is running the military experiments on Tetsuo. The story centers on Kaneda (Garrett Hedlund), the leader of a New Manhattan biker gang who tries to rescue his friend Tetsuo from these experiments. It isn't known yet if Ken Watanabe will accept the offer, although he is the first Japanese actor to be approached for this live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Ôtomo's Japanese manga.

Jaume Collet-Serra is directing Akira from a screenplay by Albert Torres and Steve Kloves. It isn't known when production may begin on Akira yet.

We also reported earlier this month, that Gary Oldman is being sought for another Warner Bros. project, Arthur & Lancelot. Perhaps Akira's loss could be Arthur & Lancelot's gain.