There's been a lot of chatter lately about a possible Alita: Battle Angel sequel, but with no official word on whether the franchise has a future at Disney, any rumours about a follow-up to the 2019 movie should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Over the past year or so, a handful of promising updates have come our way directly from franchise producers James Cameron (who originally planned to helm Alita: Battle Angel before passing the reigns to Robert Rodriguez in order to focus on his Avatar sequels) and Jon Landau.
It's now Rodriguez's turn to weigh in, and he also sounds optimistic about the franchise being given another chance courtesy of the House of Mouse.
"Yeah, Jim and I always talk about how we’d love to do another 'Alita,'" he tells The Wrap (via SFFGazette.com). "That studio [20th Century] was bought by another studio [Disney]. They’re starting to make movies now. But that for a while 20th Century wasn’t making any of their movies. I think now you’re seeing a few rolling out. We would love to."
Alita: Battle Angel was a success at the box office with a $405 million haul globally. However, it received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. Cameron produced and co-wrote the movie, so he's no doubt found it easy to convince the studio it's a property worth revisiting providing he remains closely involved.
Earlier this year, the Avatar director seemed confident a sequel would eventually happen when he said, "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 anymore."
Time will tell, but with fans making it clear they're interested in a follow-up, it appears Disney has finally taken note. Whether another Alita movie is a worthwhile investment is hard to say, especially as the first had a reported production budget of $150 million - $200 million.
If Cameron's mention of more than one movie is any indication, then we'd imagine the sequels will be shot back-to-back, a cost-cutting measure which could make an expansion of the VFX-heavy franchise a more appealing prospect to studio bosses.
Alita: Battle Angel was an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. In the movie, when Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.
As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past - she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
Are you excited about a possible Alita sequel?