While there’s a pretty vocal fanbase dedicated to getting Warner Bros to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, another fan base has been keeping pace with the devotion of that Justice League focused group of concerned citizens: The Alita Army.
Those inspired fans of director Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel have just started raising funds to take a page out of the DC Comics’ loyalists, and fly a banner over this year’s Oscars ceremony to inspire the folks at Disney to make a sequel. Not only have their efforts met their original metrics of success, but they’ve been pursuing another goal of more philanthropic means.
The funding campaign, which just opened its doors yesterday, intended to make the modest sum of $1,810 to fly a banner over the 92nd Academy Awards with “#AlitaArmy #AlitaSequel” written on it. That high water mark has already been hit as of this moment, with the funds raised totaling close to $5,000 as of this writing; with a deadline of January 29th set to close the campaign.
So now that we’re into the stretch goal phase of this Alita: Battle Angel sequel awareness campaign, the money past that needed to fly the banner is slated to be awarded to a good cause. Something that probably has Snyder Cut fans seeing double, as this is similar to the campaign that saw fans raising money on GoFundMe to not only advertise the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and also donate to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.
With their first stretch goal of $4,000 already met, and the total climbing constantly, the Alita Army is looking to make a generous donation to the prosthetics firm Open Bionics. A company that designs stylish and sci-fi inspired artificial limbs for those who need them, Open Bionics will be the recipient of all the funds past the $1,810 needed for flying said banner.
In total, this tactic undertaken by motivated fans of Alita: Battle Angel could not only raise the profile for a potential sequel, much as the film’s producer Jon Landau suggested the fandom should do, but there’s an added benefit that folks who need prosthetic limbs will be able to better afford them. If that’s not a win-win situation, then maybe we need to rethink the definition of the term itself.
Being a fan of any property in Hollywood comes with its fair share of heartbreaking setbacks, and in some cases, the warrior spirit that Alita herself embodies is what fans use to revive a sequel that looked impossible yesterday; while also doing some good for a community that needs it. So even if there isn’t a continuation to Alita: Battle Angel’s epic story, a band of fans grow stronger in their voice, and people in need benefit from the outcome.
If you’re looking to see why this 2019 action adventure has raised such a fan army ready to sing its praises, you should check out Alita: Battle Angel on either Digital HD or 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD today. And you may want to keep your eyes peeled during next Monday’s Academy Awards nominations, as this very film could find itself nominated in several technical categories, fanning the flames for a sequel even higher.
