Making one of the most popular Anime films of all time, Akira, which pretty much introduced anmie to the western world, into a live-action movie was always going to be a massive undertaking. The producers knew this, and the Akira live-action adaptation originally had a budget of $200 million and was going to span 2 movies. Then studio Warner Bros. cut to budget to $90 million. Late last year, Warner Bros. wanted to cut the budget even more, by another $20 to $30 million and turn it into a one movie affair.

Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers were unable to find the necessary cuts, and as a result, Warner has now shut down the production. It was probably for the best.