The Big Picture
When producer Jon Landau and others brought to screens the ambitious adventure story of Alita: Battle Angel, it seemed to be the start of great things. However, in the years that have followed the 2019 blockbuster, there has been little in terms of significant movement towards the creation of a sequel, even though the film’s creative team have remained consistently optimistic. A live-action adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s manga series of the same name, Alita: Battle Angel was a modest hit at the box office and producer Landau offers a confident update regarding a sequel.
Speaking in an interview with Screen Rant, Landau discussed the potential for Alita 2, stating that talks regarding the sci-fi sequel were being had between himself, James Cameron, who also co-wrote the 2019 film, and director Robert Rodriguez. Despite the mixed reviews the film has received, Landau remains proud of the work done. “Yes, I just answered that I knew before you even got there,” the producer said. “I’m very proud of that film, and we were doing it concurrently with Avatar. I was down with Robert on the set doing all that, and Jim was involved too and saw it. It came on HBO one night, and Jim watched it and called me after he watched it. He said, “Jon, Alita was on, I just decided to watch it. It’s a good movie.” (laughs) And it is! So, I want to be able to definitely do more in that world.”
On paper, 2019 Alita: Battle Angel, starring Rosa Salazar as the titular heroine — a cyborg who is reanimated by a scientist and seeking to unravel the secrets of her past in a future civilization that is highly self-centered and divided by corrupt social classes — had all the makings of a sci-fi franchise. Despite delays, Landau has consistently remained upbeat about a sequel. In an interview with Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff for Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, he said, “We want to do it. But, we’re also the type of people, we give 110% of ourselves to whatever we do. It’s not something we could have focused on in the midst of ‘Avatar: Way of Water.’ It’s something that, a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to Robert. We’ve had numerous conversations. So it’s something that we still want to happen.”
There is Appetite for an ‘Alita’ Sequel
Landau is not alone in wanting to see Salazar’s heroine return to the big screen sometime in the near future. Cameron and Rodriguez have both remained optimistic about sequel since the movie’s release, with Cameron hinting at the prospect of developing multiple follow-ups to the original. “And on Avatar, I’m working in Wellington and Los Angeles. And on the new Alita: Battle Angel films, I’ll be working in Austin, so it just didn’t make sense for us (to live there) anymore,” Cameron said. Rodriquez, in another interview with Collider, echoed Cameron’s ambitions, saying, “He outlined, very thoroughly, a second and a third film, so there’s already material there. So yeah, we’re hoping that that will happen.” When the Alita sequel does arrive, the hope is that it builds on the success of its predecessor and launches a worthy franchise.
