Warner Bros. has greenlit its live-action remake of the cartoons cult success "Akira" for a late February/early March begin, sources tell Variety.

In July, Warners tapped Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra ("Unknown" ) to direct at a budget of $90 million, which was taken down from a preliminary number of more than $100 million. Where the funds appears now isn't clear, and Warner Bros. had no comment on the project.

With a greenlight set up, studio can start searching for the 2 male leads; sources tell Variety that "Tron: Legacy" star Garrett Hedlund is regarded as a front-runner. Both Warners and Collett-Sera have been interested in the thesp, but needed to wait for a greenlight to produce their move.

Even if no offer's been made, insiders say a proposal could come soon.

"Akira," long in progress at the studio, has hit numerous speedbumps during the last several months, including Albert Hughes falling out as director. Collet-Serra was induced quickly, but figuring out the budget took about two months, with studio and creative executives meeting last week prior to the decision was closed over the weekend.

Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are producing along with Mad Chance's Andrew Lazar. It's one more big win for Appian Way, which just secrured "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves to helm its "Twilight Zone" picture at Warners.

WB obtained the potential tentpole task for a seven-figure sum from Japanese manga publisher Kodansha in 2008. Placed in New Manhattan, the cyberpunk sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker team who must save his friend, found with potentially destructive psychokinetic skills, from government medical tests.

Katsuhiro Otomo, who wrote and directed the 1988 Japanese cartoons picture of the same title, will exec produce "Akira."