Katsuhiro Otomo's epic 1982 manga about a telekinetic boy, his friend and the post-apocalyptic landscape of Neo-Tokyo was translated into a successful anime in 1988, but has eluded the live-action Hollywood treatment ever since. Perhaps because of its massive scale, or the story's distinctive roots in Japanese culture, several attempts have been made to no avail. Leonardo DiCaprio was set to produce a version with the Hughes Brothers directing, but that fell through. More recently, "Orphan" director Jaume Collett-Serra was set to helm a version with Garrett Hedlund ("Tron Legacy") in the lead. That recently stalled as well, just weeks before they began rolling, due to budget and scripting problems. "Watchmen" and other films have gone through multiple failed attempts before finally seeing the light of day, but many other adaptations have just faded away. Time will tell if "Akira" will finally get the greenlight, but it's looking less and less likely.