Hollywood studios have been struggling for decades with the ambition of making a live action adaptation of anime classic Akira. The original surreal sci-fi epic was one of the first films that introduced delighted/bemused western audiences to the genius/weirdness of Japanese animation.

Plans for a live action remake have consistently faltered thanks to a combination of concerns over casting, cultural translation and estimates of a potentially vast budget of nearly $100 million. The project has simply been deemed too expensive and risky.

Warner Bros finally had Director Jaume Collet-Serra attached to the project 18 months ago with a cast including Kristen Stewart, Ken Wantanabe and Garrett Hedlund. However, plans collapsed yet again over budget concerns.

Now the studio seems to be reviving the project, with Collet-Serra returning, allbeit with a more modest $60 million budget. It remains to be seen how much if any of the previous cast will be salvaged. But it’s probably safe to expect at least some of the marquee names associated with the project to be sacrificed to meet the restraints of the new tighter budget.