Do we have an Alita: Battle Angel 2 release date yet? The long, complicated journey to bring the hit sci-fi movie Alita: Battle Angel to the big screen took over 16 years. When the movie finally released in 2019, it marked the completion of a long-standing passion project for Avatar director James Cameron, who had harboured hopes of bringing the manga to life since 2003.
The first movie set up a sequel, but a disappointing box-office leaves it all in the balance. Still, with an army of devoted fans desperate to see more from their favourite Hunter-Warrior, and an eager cast ready to go again, why is there still no information about the Alita: Battle Angel 2 release date out there?
Of course, filmmaking is not an easy process, and it’s certainly not a quick one either. It’s been a few years since the release of Alita: Battle Angel, though, and many will be wondering when they will be able to see a sequel to the epic action movie. There may not be a greenlight just yet, but we have gathered all the information on Alita 2 we can, to keep you in the loop.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 release date speculation
As of March 2023, there is no release date for Alita: Battle Angel 2 at this moment in time. In fact, Alita 2 hasn’t even been given the green light yet. And, with the handover of 20th Century Fox productions to Disney, the process of getting that green light becomes even more complicated.
However, Robert Rodriguez, the director of Alita: Battle Angel may have been able to sweet-talk the studio after his work on Star Wars properties like The Mandalorian for streaming service Disney Plus. Indeed, the director has spoken of his hopes to get to work on Alita 2 after The Book of Boba Fett.
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Given the incredibly long journey it took for the first movie to be made, and with producer James Cameron going full steam ahead with countless more Avatar movies, it might not be that simple. Fellow producer John Landau made that clear when speaking to Digital Spy.
“You’ve got to assume that’s going to take you 12 to 18 months to write a script. Assuming that script is great, you then have a six to 10-month pre-production,” Landau explains. “You then have a six-month shoot. You then have a year of post-production and that’s just any movie of this ilk,” he adds.
At the same time, the success of Avatar 2 could well be a good thing for any hopes of an Alita sequel. If Cameron can prove his chops at the box office once more and continue to forge a good relationship with Disney, there’s every chance they will give him the go-ahead to bring Alita 2 to life.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 cast speculation
The only real certainty in this area is that Rosa Salazar, the actor who plays Alita through performance-capture technology, would reprise the lead role. The actor has spoken very openly about her love of the character and the role and would be essential to any sequel.
“I will fight to make Alita 2 happen until the end of time,” Salazar told the Digital Fix. “Thanks to performance capture technology, I could do this movie whenever. I could perform this sequel in five years, but I don’t think it should take that long. I think that it’s a story that should continue.”
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Co-star Christoph Waltz, who plays Alita’s scientific saviour Dr. Dyson Ido, has also said he is “disappointed and surprised” at the lack of a sequel, and confirmed he would return for Alita 2 if it happens when speaking to Digital Spy.
We would imagine Edward Norton, who was revealed to be the nefarious Nova at the end of the first movie, would also be back for a sequel to fulfil his evil plans.
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Of the remaining supporting cast, Mahershala Ali is the least likely to return, as his character Vector died in the first movie. Jennifer Connolly, Ed Skrein, and Jackie Earle Haley would likely return, and if our assumptions about Hugo are correct, Keenan Johnson could be back in some way, shape, or form, too.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 plot speculation
Naturally, the first port of call for any narrative arc in Alita 2 would be Alita travelling up to Zalem and taking on the evil mastermind Nova. Watching down on Iron City from his throne, Nova is the big bad guy of the Alita universe, and although he has his puppets to do his bidding, he is the villain Alita is desperate to get her hands on.
When we last saw the titular cyborg hero, she had her blade raised to the air, ready to take on Nova in Zalem, the mystical city in the sky. The first Alita movie ended on such a big cliffhanger that it absolutely had to have been made in such a way that a sequel would follow.
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Naturally, Alita is very angry. In the climax of the first movie, Alita saw the young man she had fallen in love with, Hugo, shredded to pieces by a serrated defence ring. Hugo, in his attempt to reach the promised land of Zalem, was cut down by Nova. This is, of course, after Alita had been forced to take Hugo’s head and turn him into a cyborg, too.
Relationships sure can be messy, can’t they? Whether Alita will simply avenge Hugo’s death, or go in search of his broken body, remains to be seen. After all, she has fixed him once, so the odds are she would want to do so again. And with the skills of her adoptive parents of sorts, Ido and Dr Chiren, it would certainly be possible to revive Hugo as a robotic hybrid once more.
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All things considered, we could have one hell of a wait on our hands for any potential return to Iron City. Due to the fact, Alita 2 doesn’t hasn’t even been confirmed yet, we wouldn’t even want to speculate on a release date, but we know it would take at least three years to develop and make once it does get the green light. You can keep yourself entertained until 2026, right?
That’s all the speculation and intel we can offer at the moment on any plans for Alita 2. As soon as there is any movement in Iron City, we will keep you updated. In the meantime, why not check out our guide to other thrill-seeking sequels like Aquaman 2 and Fast and Furious 10. We also have a guide breaking down the best new movies 2023 has to offer, including Scream 6, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and Rebel Moon.
