Despite the fact that Warner Brothers' live-action adaptation of Akira has been putting together a cast and production crew over the past couple of months, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the movie has now been put on hold by the studio. Casting issues, script problems, and budget concerns all led to the studio pulling the plug on production for the time being.
With all of the crew being sent home, the film's producers and director, Jaume Collet-Serra, have been brought in to rewrite the script in hopes of lowering the budget for the movie. Collet-Serra already cut the budget in half to $90 million when he was initially brought on board, but the studio thinks there is still more fat to trim from that number. The studio wants to set the budget between $60 and $70 million, and there is even talk that production could be shut down permanently if these issues don't get worked out.
However, there is a small glimmer of hope for Akira fans everywhere because a source close to the production told The Hollywood Reporter that, "It’s a very resilient movie. Warner Bros. just won’t let it die.”
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
