While it happens more than is ever reported in any given year, it would seem that 2011 is not letting itself slip past without truly becoming one for big movie projects being put on hold while studios try to shave some dollars from the budget. The latest film suffering from a case of the limbo blues? Paradise Lost.

Yes, much after the fashion of the Disney executives who pulled back on the reins for The Lone Ranger until Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski, Jerry Bruckheimer and the writers found cost savings from salaries and script elements, Legendary Pictures’ Thomas Tull has decided to plunge Alex Proyas’ ambitious, performance capture-enhanced John Milton epic back into the cooling waters of development to see if the costs can be reduced. We suppose things do cost money when you’re attempting to film a war in Heaven and the story Lucifer’s fall.

There’s been no official announcement (it’s doubtful there will be), but Deadline’s sources are reporting that Lost’s budget had slid past $120 million and now the company is hoping to find ways to reduce it.

It’s more of a shock than the Ranger situation since Proyas had gathered his crew and started building a cast that included Bradley Cooper (who talked to us about the film last week), Benjamin Walker, Diego Boneta and Camilla Belle ready for a shoot set to start next month in Australia.

But everyone is quick to stress that this is by no means the end of the film: it’s more a pause to see what can be done and Legendary apparently hopes to gear things back up in spring or summer next year. Assuming, of course, that the cast and crew department heads are still available. Expect lots of schedule juggling in the days to come…