For a long time, it seemed as though manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel was set to remain firmly stuck in development hell. James Cameron had been attached to the project in some capacity since as far back as 1997, but the filmmaker isn’t exactly known for the speed at which he gets his movies together, and with his attention firmly on the Avatar franchise, he already seemed to have his hands full with big budget sci-fi for the foreseeable future.
However, after admitting that his continued adventures in Pandora wouldn’t afford him the time to make it himself, Cameron eventually handed the reins over to Robert Rodriguez while still acting as producer and co-writer. Alita: Battle Angel would finally make it into theaters last year, where it turned out to be a solid-if-unspectacular hit with both fans and critics.
It appeared as though a box office total of $405 million against a $170 million budget had nixed any hopes of a follow-up, especially with Disney now in control of the rights following their takeover of Fox, but Alita quickly went on to find a second life as a cult favorite. The movie became the subject of a huge online campaign to raise interest in a sequel, and we’ve now heard that the Mouse House might actually be listening.
According to our sources – the same ones who told us a Percy Jackson TV show is in the works and that live-action remakes of Robin Hood and Bambi are in development, all of which were correct – the studio are now reportedly considering green-lighting an Alita sequel. The higher-ups have noticed both the strong home video sales and a passionate fanbase that’s only getting bigger, which has led to discussions behind the scenes on returning to the 26th Century for another outing.
It isn’t clear yet if it would be a full-blown big screen sequel or a Disney Plus exclusive with a lower budget, but the news that they’re even considering diving back into the world of Alita: Battle Angel should be enough to generate excitement among the fans and mobilize the online troops, who’ve vocally supported the movie over the last eighteen months.
