Fans of Alita: Battle Angel who really want a sequel have been calling themselves the Alita Army. They have pushed that petition for Alita: Battle Angel 2 beyond 121,000 signatures and counting. They have been tweeting. They have been commenting. And we have been writing stories arguing why Alita deserves a sequel. Fans want Alita 2 to happen so much. So, will it happen?
Jon Landau produced Alita: Battle Angel with James Cameron, and Landau just talked to CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell about the potential for a sequel. His advice to fans was basically to keep it up:
What I think the Alita Army should do is keep peppering our family now at Disney and [let them know] how important it is to have another Alita movie and hopefully we'll venture there one day.
Yes, as Alita: Battle Angel producer Jon Landau noted, the family to reach is now at Disney. The movie was released in February 2019 by 20th Century Fox, and shortly after that everything was finalized with Disney's acquisition of Fox properties. There's been a lot to sort out in the transition.
So that's why Alita star Rosa Salazar said she understood why Disney didn't immediately have word on Alita 2. That said, it's been a minute. And in that minute, the Alita Army has kept the buzz going for Alita: Battle Angel. The movie made $404.8 million worldwide -- granted, most of that was overseas from $319 million at the international box office, per Box Office Mojo. But the interest is there.
So, theoretically, how long would it take for an Alita sequel to be made? Here's more from Jon Landau to CinemaBlend:
I think when you can talk about any movie, and I won’t talk specifically about Alita, but your first step is writing a script. 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. You then have a six month shoot. You then have a year of post-production and that's just any movie of this ilk.
That's a lot of time. With Alita, though, the first movie's script was co-written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis and ended with clear potential for sequels. So the story is already there, it's not like they'd be throwing pencils at the ceiling wondering "Where do we go from here?"
As Jon Landau continued, the team knows there are definitely more stories to tell in the Alita universe:
Absolutely. ... When Jim [Cameron] was going to direct us, which he was at point, in his mind he had plotted out two additional stories of where we would go very specifically.
James Cameron does love to plan his sequels -- from Terminator to Avatar and Alita. Robert Rodriguez ultimately directed Alita: Battle Angel and said he'd love to return for Alita 2. Rose Salazar is ready to return too.
Since we live in the age of streaming -- with Disney+ now on the scene as a source of original and classic content -- would Jon Landau and the Alita filmmakers ever consider taking Alita: Battle Angel 2 to streaming?
Well, I won't speak specifically about Alita. I would just tell you that I think Jim [Cameron] and I love the opportunities that streaming and these other avenues of distribution are offering people today. And you know, we would love to get into those playgrounds and play in them, no matter what the title is.
So Jon Landau and James Cameron are fans of the streaming world, but it's too early to make any calls about Alita: Battle Angel 2. As Landau said, though, fans should keep telling Disney they want Alita 2 -- and maybe emphasize you'll pay good money to see it, and you'll make your friends, family, and neighbors pay money to see it too.
While we wait for news on Alita 2, keep up with everything still headed to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule. And get ahead of the new year with our 2020 movie release date schedule.
