Akira Goes Kaput

If you'll remember, Warner Brothers, Legendary Pictures and Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way officially announced plans to adapt the manga Akira into a live-action two-film series. They went as far as hiring Ruairi Robinson to direct with Summer 2009 and 2010 release dates announced.

That was then and we've heard diddly dick from all parties involved since said announcement. So it should come as no surprise whatsoever that the good folks over at Bloody-Disgusting have received word from two separate sources saying the project is "as dead as a doornail."

As crazy it sounds right now (what with The Hangover kicking ass at the box-office and Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince arriving next month), Warner Brothers was the most effected by the WGA Strike two years ago and desperate to have tentpoles lined up and ready to go for this summer. Hell, why do you think Terminator: Salvation was churned out as quickly as it was?

Once they opted to move Potter from November 2008 to July 2009, the studio breathed a sigh of relief and probably felt less inclined to take a risk with such an ambitious endeavor as Akira would have been - especially with the time-table they had to pull if off and the fact that the similarly bleak Watchmen and Terminator didn't exactly light the box-office on fire this year.