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Live-Action Alita: Battle Angel Opens in U.K. and Ireland on Wednesday

posted on by Andrew Osmond
Robert Rodriguez directs Hollywood adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's manga, previously developed by James Cameron

Alita: Battle Angel, Robert Rodriguez's live-action film based on Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM) manga, will open in the UK and Ireland on Wednesday February 6, ahead of its release in America and Japan. Some of the screenings will be at IMAX venues. Rodriguez directed the film, which James Cameron, the film's co-producer, had previously been developing since the early 2000s.

The film stars 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."
  • Eiza Gonzales (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 Dr. Chiren, based on a character who did not appear in the manga but was created for the 1993 two-part OAV adaptation.
  • 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.


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