Robert Rodriguez Confirms Sequel Talks for Alita: Battle Angel

Director Robert Rodriguez is optimistic about the progress of Alita: Battle Angel 2 despite the recent remarks made by producer Jon Landau regarding the project.

The live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga created by Yukito Kishiro in 2019 was initially planned to establish several sequels, but this intention was cast into uncertainty after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox.

Nonetheless, the possibility of the series being continued was revived after Landau disclosed that he was engaged in discussions with Rodriguez and lead actress Rosa Salazar about potentially returning for a sequel.

Collider recently interviewed Rodriguez, and during the discussion, he was questioned about the status of Alita: Battle Angel 2 and its current position.

Initially uncertain about the possibility of a sequel, the director admits to being encouraged by the progress of other Fox projects, which bolstered his desire to revisit the property.

He affirms that negotiations are presently taking place, and while no concrete updates are available at the moment, he maintains a positive outlook. Read her comments below –

I mean, movement other than us talking about it? You know, I just wasn’t sure it was ever gonna happen because even when the first movie came out, Disney had just bought Fox, so even our marketing people, everybody, were gone by the time that movie came out. And then there wasn’t any Fox movies being made for years because Disney was still busy making their own Disney stuff. But now I’ve seen some Fox movies come out, so that gave me hope. And then when Jon [Landau, producer] mentioned that, and then [James Cameron] and I have been talking that we always wanted to do an ‘Alita’ sequel. 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. But nothing more definitive than that. ]

The idea of a live-action version of Alita: Battle Angel has been a passion project for James Cameron since the year 2000, with plans dating back to that time. 

Due to his packed schedule, however, Cameron was unable to direct the film himself, and ultimately entrusted the job to Rodriguez while he focused on his Avatar sequels.

Cameron stayed on as the producer, however, and his expertise in guiding large-scale, high-budget projects is evident in the polished finished product created by Rodriguez.

Alita: Battle Angel earned an impressive $404 million in global box office revenue upon its initial release. The film not only brought a new audience to the much-revered manga series, but it also garnered recognition as one of the finest live-action manga adaptations ever created.

However, as the first movie only adapted a small segment of the original nine-volume narrative, there is an abundance of unexplored material within the Alita universe still to be delved into.

Given Disney’s apparent commitment to capitalizing on their other blockbuster franchises, Alita: Battle Angel has all the essential components of both source material and audience appeal to become another tremendously lucrative piece of intellectual property.

Additionally, in light of the exceptional triumph of Cameron’s other passion project, Avatar: The Way of Water, it would be astute for the studio to trust the instincts of the renowned filmmaker.

While it is heartening to hear that Rodriguez is optimistic about the possibility of Alita: Battle Angel 2 under Disney’s ownership, one can hope that the director will soon be able to deliver more definitive updates about the project finally moving forward.

About Alita: Battle Angel

Alita: Battle Angel is a 2019 American cyberpunk action film based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga series Gunnm (or Battle Angel Alita in English). It was directed by Robert Rodriguez, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, and written by Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis.

Rosa Salazar stars through motion-capture animation as Alita, a cyborg who awakens in a new body without 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.