Live action Akira remake gets the go ahead

After all the years of rumours it seems the live-action remake of anime smash Akira is finally getting the go ahead, with Warner Bros. backing the project.

Those who have longed for a big Hollywood reimagining of the dayglo world of Neo-Tokyo have finally got their wish.

Well, sort of. It seems the studio is setting the budget at around $90m, which (it sounds crazy to say) is modest by today's standards.

Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra ( Orphan , Unknown ) will take the helm on a shoot that's expected to start in February or March 2012.

Warner Bros. and Collet-Serra have apparently already decided their first casting choice: Tron Legacy 's Garrett Hedlund.

Both are said to be "keen" on him and with the movie now greenlit expect to sign him up.

There's no word on which of the two male leads he'd play yet - biker Kaneda or his friend Tetsuo.

However, if Warner Bros. is picking Hedlund for the role of Kaneda (as we suspect it is), TF 's casting choice for Tetsuo is between Anton Yelchin or Ezra Miller. Discuss.