Produced by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez, ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ has added ‘Deadpool’ bad guy Ed Skrein to the cast as a villainous cyborg named Zapan, possessor of the Damascus Blade. Skrein joins Rosa Salazar, who plays the title hero, as well as Jackie Earl Haley and Christoph Waltz who will play Dr. Dyson Ido, in the film which will adapt the popular manga series ‘Battle Angel Alita’ by Yukito Kishiro. Cameron is writing the script with Laeta Kalogridis.
Set in the 26th century, Alita tells of a female cyborg that is discovered in a scrapyard by a scientist. With no memory of her previous life except her deadly martial-arts training, the woman becomes a bounty hunter, tracking down criminals.
Cameron has had the option for the live action adaptation of ‘Battle Angel Alita’ for many years now, but it looks like things are finally moving forward.
The first manga in the series was released in 1990 and an animated film arrived in 1993. ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ joins other upcoming manga/anime adaptations ‘Death Note’ and ‘Ghost In The Machine’.
Skrein gained attention for playing Francis Ajax in this spring’s surprise smash ‘Deadpool’. He previously headlined the little-seen reboot ‘The Transporter: Refueled’. He can next be viewed in the sci fi thriller ‘Tau’ and is currently filming ‘In Darkness’ with Natalie Dormer.
Rodriguez currently serves as showrunner for ‘From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series’, to which he also contributes directing duties. He is also attached to ‘Machete Kills In Space’ and a live-action adaptation of ‘Johnny Quest’.
In addition to ‘Alita: Battle Angel’, Cameron is juggling additional films in the ‘Terminator’ and ‘Avatar’ franchises, the latter of which he also plans to direct.
20th Century Fox is hoping to begin production on ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ next months (October 2016) with a theatrical release scheduled for July 20, 2018.
What do you think? With Rodriguez and Cameron pulling the strings, can ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ soar at the box office?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
