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Live-Action Alita: Battle Angel's Japanese Trailer Confirms Film's Japanese Title

20th Century Fox began streaming the first Japanese trailer for Alita: Battle Angel, Robert Rodriguez's live-action film of Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM) manga, on Tuesday. The trailer features the same footage as the first English trailer, but confirms that the film wll be released with the Alita: Battle Angel title in Japan, and not with the manga's original GUNNM (銃夢) title. The protagonist's name in the film is also Alita in Japanese, not Gally as in the original Japanese version of the manga. The film will open in Japan this summer.

A Japanese-subtitled version of a behind-the-scenes video featuring comments by both producer/writer James Cameron and Rodriguez also debuted on Tuesday.

The film will star Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Man Seeking Woman) in motion capture as Alita. Other reported cast members include:

• Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Spectre, The Legend of Tarzan) as Doctor Dyson Ido, "the cybersurgeon who finds the cyborg [protagonist] and becomes her mentor."
• Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street remake, Preacher, The Dark Tower, The Birth of a Nation) as "a monstrous cyborg in a villain role that will call for plenty of CG and greenscreen."
• Ed Skrein (The Transporter Refueled, Deadpool) as Zapan, "a villainous cyborg who is in possession of a weapon called the Damascus blade."
• Keean Johnson (Nashville, Spooksville) as Hugo, the "love interest" and "a young man who teaches Alita how to play a gladiator-style game called Motorball but who also has a secret side job stealing robot parts."
• Elza González (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series)
• Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming,The Land) as the "cunning and sly friend" of Keean Johnson's character.
• Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Koyomi, an orphaned teenage photographer in the manga.
• Leonard Wu (Marco Polo) as Kinuba, a cyborg character in the manga.
• Marko Zaror (Machete Kills) as Ajakutty, a Motorball player who also appears in the original manga.
• Jennifer Connelly (American Pastoral, Hulk, Dark Water) as one of the film's villains.
• Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious) as Gelda.
• Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Hidden Figures) as two unspecified roles

The Hollywood Reporter described the film:

Set in the 26th century, Alita: Battle Angel tells of a female cyborg that is discovered in a trash yard 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.

The action-adventure story is meant to serve as a backdrop to themes of self-discovery and the search for love.

Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, Spy Kids) is directing the film. James Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment partner Jon Landau are producing the project, and Shutter Island's Laeta Kalogridis penned a script.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rodriguez said that the film is a self-contained story but "it tunes up a world and a character that could go on and on." Cameron originally planned for a film trilogy.

Fox has scheduled the film for a wide release in North America on July 20, 2018. The film will get an IMAX release.

Source: Comic Natalie