Hardly a month goes by without a major movie making its rounds on the cinema circuit that doesn’t feature some motorcycle action.

Summer blockbusters brought Ducati and Triumph motorcycle actions scenes courtesy of Tom Cruise in Knight and Day as well as Angelina Jolie in Salt.

As the months grow cooler, seeing everyone’s favorite two-wheeled past time is the only opportunity to get close to a motorcycle for some bikers. Looking into the future of movie releases Captain America will be riding from the comic books to the big screen and who isn’t looking forward to seeing the latest take on Tron’s lightcycles?

And this trend of motorcycles starring alongside, and more specifically underneath the most famous names around is sure to continue with the latest generation of actors seemingly bitten by the biker bug.

As discussed in Clutch and Chrome’s news piece, ‘Young, famous and they love motorcycles’ teen idol actors such as Zac Efron (from Disney’s High School Musical) and Taylor Lautner (Twilight series) are both spending their spare time in the saddle.

When stars love to ride, somehow that passion spills into the latest movie projects with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise both being great examples of powerful names who manage to bring motorcycles into their different starring roles.

Apparently following the path laid down by Cruise and Pitt, Zac Efron is rumored to be the star of choice for the live adaptation of the Japanese animated cult classic Akira starring as, surprise surprise, the leader of a motorcycle gang.

The animated version of Akira was based on a comic book, drawn in the form known as manga with the story set in a futuristic and post-war city, Neo-Tokyo, in 2019. The cartoon would go onto become a hugely popular cult film and is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation and film.

Efron is rumored to play the role of Kaneda, the leader of a motorcycle gang. Also reportedly appearing in the movie will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt, last seen alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception and is expected to be cast as Kaneda's best friend Tetsuo.

Interestingly enough, DiCaprio was originally rumored to be the actor playing Kaneda.

The live-action adaptation of Akira is to be helmed by Albert Hughes (who most recently directed The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington), and is co-written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby.

Even in the future, she doesn't come with the motorcycle

With the cult following surrounding the animated classic, producers may not have to look far for inspiration to bring the futuristic motorcycle to the big screen. Fiberglass shells have been created by fans and entrepreneurs alike to either fit on top of a motorcycle frame or simply for display purposes as one big, oversized model.