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Alita: Battle Angel may have arrived in 2019, but there have been discussions and demand for Alita: Battle Angel 2 ever since the original’s release. The 2019 movie, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron, follows the titular cyborg who awakens in a dystopian world with total amnesia. She soon finds out that she has unbelievable combat prowess and is essentially a living weapon, and with this knowledge sets out to seek the truth about her past. Though it wasn’t a box office sensation, it has a unique aesthetic and has since found a cult following that remains ever-hungry for an Alita: Battle Angel 2.
Alita: Battle Angel was planned to be the beginning of a huge new cinematic universe. Unfortunately, the movie made $404 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), which sounds impressive, but relative to its $170 million budget as well as roughly the same number for its marketing cost, Alita: Battle Angel was a huge underperformance for the studio. Because of the box office result, any previous discussions about a sequel were seemingly put on hold. However, talks about Alita 2 are happening again, and based on recent Alita: Battle Angel 2 teases from James Cameron and the team behind the original suggest the sequel will see the light of day.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 Recent News
While the Alita: Battle Angel 2 release date still isn’t known (and likely a few years away still), there has been recent news on the Alita sequel reaffirming that it’s being developed. On October 5, 2023, director Robert Rodriguez gave an update on when the sequel to Alita: Battle Angel can be expected, revealing that production on Alita 2 is likely to begin in earnest once the still-ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved.
“Yeah, Jim and I always talk about how we’d love to do another “Alita.” Rodriguez explained, “That studio [20th Century] was bought by another studio [Disney]. They’re starting to make movies now. But that for a while 20th Century wasn’t making any of their movies. I think now you’re seeing a few rolling out. We would love to.” Rodriguez refers of course to development on new movies from 20th Century picking up again after resolution of the WGA strike and that Disney are revisiting 20th Century movie properties they acquired. If Rodriguez’s optimism is well-placed it could be that Disney greenlights production on Alita: Battle Angel 2 soon.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 Is Confirmed
Alita: Battle Angel 2 is confirmed, as confirmed by producer James Cameron as recently as July 2023. When asked about his upcoming projects, Cameron responded, “And on Avatar, I’m working in Wellington and Los Angeles. And on the new Alita: Battle Angel films, I’ll be working in Austin.” Prior to this, director Robert Rodriguez had revealed that talks were happening again in May 2023 (via Movie Web).
The filmmaker explained that he has been speaking with producers Cameron and Jon Landau about Alita: Battle Angel 2, excitedly noting, “Yeah, we have been talking about it, so we would love to make one.” However, it isn’t clear when the sequel will arrive even if it’s confirmed. Rodriguez added, “We haven’t set it for sure yet… They’re slammed with all the Avatar stuff, but they’ve definitely been engaging in it.”
Alita: Battle Angel 2 Release Date
Given that Alita: Battle Angel 2 has only just been confirmed by Cameron, it’s impossible to say when the Alita: Battle Angel 2 release date could be. As Rodriguez is hinting at the movie not entering production until Cameron has more free time, that might not be until after the release of Avatar 5 in December 2028, meaning that Alita 2 wouldn’t be released until 2030 at the earliest. The time it took to bring the original movie to the big screen instills even less confidence in the potential Alita: Battle Angel 2 release date, as it took Cameron 16 years to complete Alita: Battle Angel after starting work on it in 2003 (via Den of Geek).
Alita: Battle Angel 2 Cast
It’s impossible to say who would be a part of the Alita: Battle Angel 2 cast, but it’s easy to assume that Rasa Salazar (Parenthood) would reprise her role as Alita. Salazar has even definitively said so herself (via The Digital Fix), explaining, “I will fight to make Alita 2 happen until the end of time.” Outside of Salazar, almost all of the original Alita cast could return except for Mahershala Ali (True Detective), who played Vector. Edward Norton (Fight Club) would likely return as the franchise villain Nova, and Christopher Waltz could return as Alita’s father figure as well. Jennifer Connelly’s (Top Gun: Maverick) Chiren and Ed Skrein’s (Deadpool) Zapan could all return too.
Other recent Alita 2 cast comments come from Lana Condor, who plays Koyami in the original 2019 movie. The actor spoke in June 2023 about wanting to return for the Alita: Battle Angel 2 cast. Condor credits the immersive world of the movie and the source material for wanting to return, explaining, “I feel like we can explore a lot more of that world, and obviously the original IP is vast.” Though Condor didn’t seem optimistic, adding, “I haven’t heard of any plans to continue that storyline,” with Alita: Battle Angel 2 confirmed following Cameron’s comments, her return is very possible.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 Story
While Robert Rodriguez hasn’t spoken about the potential Alita: Battle Angel 2 story, it’s easy to see the direction the franchise is going in. As Nova is the Alita franchise’s Thanos-level threat and survived in the first movie, Alita 2 will likely see the titular cyborg track down the nefarious villain and get revenge for Hugo’s death. Alita had fallen in love with Hugo, but he was killed in the Alita: Battle Angel ending by being literally shredded to pieces. Not only that but the story could see Nova visit the city in the sky, Zalem, which was hinted at in the very final shot of Alita: Battle Angel.
