At this point I imagine Warner Brothers' troubled live-action Akira as the character Nezu, in an alley trying to stave off a fatal heart attack by shoving dozens of pills down his throat. The film is definitely on life support, with the latest news being that the Vancouver production offices were shut down and some of the low end employees sent home.
While I personally had no desire to see Akira get turned into some half assed Hollywood tentpole, some of the casting choices being made were pretty inspired. Ken Watanabe, Helena Bonham Carter, and Kristen Stewart are solid picks that could carry the film to greatness, despite the presence of Garrett Hedlund(Tron: Legacy) as Kaneda. A number of names were also being floated for the prominent Tetsuo role, and Deadline reports the two finalists were actually Michael Pitt(Funny Games) and Dane DeHaan(Chronicle). As part of their interviews for the gig, the two signed options that basically kept them available for awhile. Unfortunately that period has expired now, with Warner Brothers making no attempt to renew. They could still factor in somehow, but for now they are free to pursue other projects rather than wait to see how Akira shakes out.
How things will turn out is anybody's guess. It appears that reports of additional budget concerns may not be totally true. When Jaume Collet-Serra came aboard to direct, the cost had already been trimmed down to $90M thanks to a rewrite by Steve Kloves. Now the studio is taking a hard look at the next draft provided by David James Kelly, and is looking at bringing in somebody more high profile to give it a polish. Rewrites happen all the time, though, and shutting down production isn't usually the result. So maybe I was hasty in thinking this was the end, but Akira certainly seems closer to death than it ever has before. Then again we thought the same thing about Disney's The Lone Ranger, and that turned out just fine.
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