2/13/18 – In the two-and-a-half years since the initial announcement that Robert Rodriguez would be adapting Yukito Kishiro’s manga series Alita: Battle Angel for the big screen, we’ve become privy to quite a bit of exciting news concerning the project. We were intrigued by the choice of Rose Salazar to play the film’s lead, likewise by the casting of Christoph Waltz. It wasn’t until recently until we got a glimpse of the film’s first trailer, which was nothing if not enchanting to look at. Unfortunately, we’ve just got our first bit of bona fide bad news about Alita: Battle Angel—it’s been pushed from its original release date of July 20, 2018 all the way to December 21, 2018.

As reported by Collider, Alita is one of two big pictures whose release is being rescheduled by studio 20th Century Fox this year, the other being Shane Black’s The Predator. As the latter is only being bumped by little more than a month—from August 3 to September 14—the news of Alita‘s shakeup is harnessing most of the attention, and, frankly, concern. But we’re not ready to count the film out just yet. Looming reshoots notwithstanding, we’re holding out for more tangible news on Alita‘s status before we let go of our excitement. (We’ve been waiting for this movie for years—why give up hope now?)

10/14/15 – For over 15 years, James Cameron has tried to bring Yukito Kishiro’s classic manga series Battle Angel Alita to the big screen. Now, it may finally happen.

Robert Rodriguez is reportedly in talks to helm the newly retitled Alita: Battle Angel adaptation with Cameron producing the film through his production company, Lightstorm Entertainment. Cameron had long eyed Battle Angel Alita as a potential film to direct himself, but Cameron has also made no secret about the fact that his focus is on the Avatar sequels currently in production.

Battle Angel Alita was originally published in 1990, and it followed a damaged female cyborg who was discovered in a scrapyard. After being reactivated by a scientist who renamed her “Alita,” she became a bounty hunter and tracked down criminals while searching for clues about her missing memories and identity.

“Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do Battle Angel,” explained Cameron. “He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.”

It’s not clear where Alita: Battle Angel would fall in Rodriguez’s schedule, as he already has a live-action Jonny Quest in the works as well.

Battle Angel fans, who would you cast as Alita in the live-action film? Share your picks in the comment section below!

—

HT: The Hollywood Reporter

Image Credit: Animate Film / Madhouse