Alita: Battle Angel 2 director reveals why a sequel is still possible


Devdiscourse News Desk | New York | Updated: 12-07-2021 19:22 IST | Created: 29-05-2021 11:02 IST
Alita: Battle Angel 2 director reveals why a sequel is still possible
The director Robert Rodriguez and producer James Cameron always want to make more sequels of the movie. Image Credit: Twitter / Robert Rodriguez
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After the premiere of Alita: Battle Angel, the audience and critics praised Rosa Salazar's (Alita) outstanding performance in the movie. But the film underperformed at the box office, grossing just 404 million USD on a 170 million USD budget.

This is said to be Rodriguez's highest-grossing film, but with a reported break-even point of 350–500 USD million, there has been debates over whether the film was profitable. Nonetheless, the movie received mixed reviews from critics. And since the premiere of the movie, fans are demanding a sequel.

Is Alita: Battle Angel 2 ever possible?

Speaking to Collider during the release of the first movie, Christoph Waltz who played Dr. Dyson Ido told about the future of the sequel. He stated, “Of course! Of course, I would! But, you know, I'm as wise as you are. I haven't heard anything and I'm a little disappointed and surprised that I haven't heard a thing so far, because I know that it has followers."

"I know that people liked it and aside from what others said, I loved it and I liked working on it, and I liked the result," he added.

While speaking details on Alita battle Angel 2 Christoph Waltz said "You know, [the film was produced by] Fox, and Fox doesn't exist anymore. Now it's Disney."

We all know 20th Century Fox doesn't exist, so the distribution of 20th Century films is now handled by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

He added, "Maybe [Alita 2] doesn't fit into the Disneyfication [of 20th Century Studios]."

However, the director is hopeful that a sequel is possible. In a conversation with Forbes, Robert Rodriguez said, “I think anything is possible. Disney bought Fox, and they have Disney Plus, so that is worth the conversation.” While he was asked whether there is a possibility of Alita: Battle Angel 2, he answered, “I know other people would love to see another, and I would love to do another one.”

He went on: “As far as where it would go or how it would be made, I think streaming has opened up many opportunities such as sequels.

“It’s already a pre-sold concept, it’s already got a built-in audience that wants to see it, and then it’s delivered to them in a way that’s the easiest for them to consume. So, it’s not a bad idea.”

The director Robert Rodriguez and producer James Cameron always want to make more sequels of the movie but the production company and distributor 20th Century Fox distributed Alita: Battle Angel as the last and independent title. Robert Rodriguez believes there is a chance for Alita: Battle Angel 2.

Alita: Battle Angel’s backstory

Alita: Battle Angel is the 2019 movie based on Japanese manga named Battle Angel: Alita by artist Yukito Kishiro. The story is full of action, love, and empowerment.

The movie is set in 2563, 300 years after Earth was devastated by a catastrophic war known as ‘The Fall’, which describes the post-apocalyptic world. Alita (played by Rosa Salazar) is a disembodied female cyborg with an intact human brain found in a junkyard of the iron city by scientist Dr. Dyson Ido. He takes the unconscious Alita to his clinic.

 She awakens with memory loss syndrome. Slowly Alita learns to pilot her new life and the unsafe streets of Iron City. Dr. Ido tries to protect Alita from her mysterious past. Later she registered her as Hunter-Warrior.

The cyberpunk movie, Alita: Battle Angel was directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron. Cameron himself penned the film with Laeta Kalogridis. Rosa Salazar stars through performance-capture animation as Alita, a cyborg who awakens in a new body with no memory of her past and sets out to uncover her destiny.

Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Keean Johnson star in supporting roles.

Rosa Salazar always wants to return in Alita: Battle Angel 2 if it is filmed. She loves her character and the movie franchise very much, she said "I would play Alita till my last breath. I would, and thanks to the performance capture technology, I probably could."

Presently, Alita: Battle Angel 2 doesn't have an official release date. Stay tuned to Devdiscourse to get the latest updates on Hollywood movies.

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