Alita: Battle Angel 2 Is Happening, Sequel Confirmed
Producer Jon Landau has confirmed Alita: Battle Angel 2 is in the works.
It’s been nearly five years since Alita: Battle Angel was released, and after years of begging, the fans are finally getting a sequel to the Rosa Salazar-led sci-fi adventure. In an interview covered by ScreenGeek, producer Jon Landau has confirmed that Alita: Battle Angel 2 isn’t just on its way, it’s already in the works, and in a way, it’s all thanks to Avatar.
It’s kind of funny that the Avatar franchise is responsible for Alita: Battle Angel 2 officially getting greenlit because Avatar 2 is what put the sequel on the back burner in the first place. But according to Landau, there was a certain cycle that had to be followed as creators learned more about creating realistic CGI leading characters. “I think what we’ve learned from Avatar is how much more facial nuance and subtlety that we can get into characters that we want to be emotional and emote that are humanoid,” Landau said.
He went on to explain that the first Alita would not have been possible without the first Avatar. Then, the Avatar sequel would not have been possible without what the team learned from Alita, and now Avatar: The Way of Water has paved the way for creators to pick up where they left off and make Alita: Battle Angel 2. In a way, both franchises have been helping each other out as creators practice and perfect their craft of creating computer-generated people, or cyborgs in Alita’s case.
For those wondering if the original team would be back for Alita: Battle Angel 2, Landau had a response to that question as well. Apparently, the folks at 20th Century Studios have been in talks with Robert Rodriguez who directed the original Alita, and Rosa Salazar who played the titular character and both are on board to return to the franchise. As far as if any other familiar faces will be back for the sequel, Landau did not say.
He also didn’t comment on what the plot of the sequel would be about. In fact, it’s likely that Alita: Battle Angel 2 doesn’t even have a solid plot in place yet as the project is still in the very early stages of development. Still, with Landau gearing up for a sequel and reeling in original players like Salazar and Rodriguez, things are looking good for fans who have been waiting half a decade for another Anita film to be released.
Based on the Japanese cyberpunk manga Gunnm, Alita: Battle Angel was a major box-office success when it was released in 2019. The film cost about $200 million to make and doubled its budget in theaters, bringing home a whopping $405 million. Hitting such high marks without already having an established franchise like the MCU or DC movies do is a pretty impressive feat and a great sign that Alita: Battle Angel 2 will be welcomed by fans.
The first Alita movie followed Alita’s origin story as a cyborg who awakens in a new body without any memory of who she was before. Determined to learn more about herself, Alita goes on a quest, and along the way, she uncovers her destiny. The film was written by Avatar helmer James Cameron, as well as Laeta Kalogridis and based the story on the books by Yukito Kishiro.
There’s no word yet on if Cameron and Kalogridis will be penning the script for Alita: Battle Angel 2, although likely Cameron won’t be heavily involved as he is booked out for the next several years to complete the Avatar series. Meanwhile, Salazar should be free as a bird to begin production as soon as it’s ready as she only has one upcoming project in the works (a drama called A Million Miles Away that has already begun filming). Rodriguez, on the other hand, has a busy slate with five projects in the works, including a new Spy Kids movie, Spy Kids: Armageddon.
As always, we will be sure to keep you up to date with more Alita: Battle Angel 2 news as we learn more.
