After years of speculation, producer James Cameron appears to have confirmed that Alita: Battle Angel 2 and a third feature are indeed in the works. Alita: Battle Angel, directed by Robert Rodriguez and released in 2019, is an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s Japanese manga Gunnm (Battle Angel Alita, in English).
Alita: Battle Angel was a box office success, grossing over $405 million and becoming Rodriguez’s highest-grossing film. Alita also has a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 92%, indicating how much filmgoers loved it. Many fans have wished for a sequel in the years since the film’s premiere, and Rodriguez revealed in May that talks were underway about making the film alongside Cameron and Landau. Officially, while speaking with Forbes about the ranch he’s selling, Cameron casually states that he’ll be working on Alita: Battle Angel 2 in Texas soon, thus confirming that the sequel is finally a go.
“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, so it just didn’t make sense for us anymore,” Cameron explained, revealing why it was time to sell the ranch.
@EpicFlixAnime Tweet with more than 1K Views teases the rumor of multiple sequels to Alita: Battle Angel being aligned:
Alita: Battle Angel 2 & 3 seemingly confirmed by James Cameron in a recent interview with Forbes:
“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, so it just didn’t make sense for us anymore.” pic.twitter.com/Md8ZWLV61a
— Epic Anime News (@EpicFlixAnime) July 11, 2023
It’s worth noting that Cameron stated “films,” which could imply that there are plans for more than one sequel to Alita: Battle Angel. Cameron didn’t provide any other clarification in the interview, so it’s unclear whether Alita: Battle Angel will wind up as a trilogy – or potentially an even longer film series, as Cameron has been planning with the Avatar franchise.
Rosa Salazar Wants to Return
Rosa Salazar undoubtedly wishes to reprise her role in Alita: Battle Angel 2. Last year, she acknowledged “harassing” Cameron about making the film, adding that the producer had always told her, “I’m so down.” She further expressed how much love she shares for the story with Cameron and Rodriguez.
“All three of us have so much love for it. It’s never outside of our line of vision, ever,” she stated to CinemaBlend. “Everything we do, we’re just sort of like, ‘How do we get back there?’ … We’re trying like hell to get her back out there because we know how much […] her story means so much to women, to young girls, to boys, to everybody. I think she represents something that transcends race, gender, all of that. So we’re working on it, man!”
Even though there’s no official confirmation for the sequel, Cameron has still confirmed that he will soon start filming for the movie in Austin. Perhaps this latest development indicates their efforts are finally paying off.
