Alita Battle Angel Sequel Gets Hopeful Update

The chances of an Alita: Battle Angel sequel happening seem strong, as the original film’s producer gives a hopeful update for Alita: Battle Angel 2. 20th Century Fox launched the live-action movie franchise based on the acclaimed manga in 2019 after years of James Cameron developing the film. Robert Rodriguez ultimately directed Alita: Battle Angel, which starred Rosa Salazar as Alita and received mixed reviews. However, the movie earned over $400 million worldwide, giving hope that a sequel would happen at some point, but fans have mostly been left in the dark during the last three years.

Finally, a fairly positive update on the possibility of Alita: Battle Angel 2 happening has arrived. With James Cameron preparing to release Avatar: The Way of Water, his producing partner Jon Landau spoke to Deadline on the red carpet of the film’s world premiere. Landau also produced Alita: Battle Angel, and he mentioned the sequel as a project they are hoping to work on shortly. He said, “Well there’s a little film called Alita: Battle Angel that we’d love to circle back and do a sequel to. Been talking to Robert [Rodriguez] about that and hopefully, that comes to fruition.” When asked how far away the Alita: Battle Angel sequel is from happening, Landau said he did not want to give a timeline publicly that fans and reporters could hold against him.

Why Alita Battle Angel 2 Has Taken So Long?

Those hoping to see Alita on the big screen again have had to wait a long time for an Alita: Battle Angel sequel to move forward. The movie’s release came amidst Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century, which left the franchise in an odd spot. Disney was not involved in the film’s development, but Alita: Battle Angel was one of the better-performing movies developed by Fox that was released by the studio after the merger. Although Disney is almost always interested in creating and continuing franchises, doing so with Alita: Battle Angel has not been a priority. This is partially due to most of the movie’s main creatives being incredibly busy.

In addition to James Cameron giving all of his attention to Avatar: The Way of Water and the subsequent Avatar sequels, director Robert Rodriguez has been busy elsewhere. He’s made multiple movies for Netflix and is working on rebooting the Spy Kids franchise for the streamer. Rodriguez also worked on The Mandalorian season 2 and then oversaw The Book of Boba Fett. Since both Rodriguez and Cameron have been occupied with other Disney franchises, that has left no one to shepherd the development of Alita: Battle Angel 2. However, the two had spoken about making the sequel by late 2021.

Avatar 2’s Success Could Help Alita 2’s Chances.

There is a chance that an Alita: Battle Angel sequel will begin making significant progress after Avatar: The Way of Water’s release. James Cameron’s sequel could even help incentivize Disney to make Alita: Battle Angel 2, as the director could sell the studio on his vision for the franchise. The studio might be more likely to grant this wish if Avatar 2 dominates at the box office as expected. It is not uncommon for the success of one movie to help get other projects greenlit, so Cameron could leverage any power Avatar: The Way of Water’s success gives him into making Alita: Battle Angel 2.