Hey guys, Jana here,
James Cameron loves his heroes and he apparently loves manga, who knew?! Well we’re all finding that out today, and one of Cameron’s pet projects that he’s held rights to since at least 2012 is ‘Alita: Battle Angel‘.
Twentieth Century Fox has joined producers Cameron and Jon Landau in seeking out a director that can bring life to the graphic novel in just the right way, and their search has landed at the door of Robert Rodriguez. Cameron clearly feels the timing is right and that CGI technology has caught up enough with his vision and that a live-action film in 3D, similar to ‘Avatar‘ could be completed now. Cameron originally wanted to direct the film, much to the delight of the fans, but he is currently working, with Landau, on ‘Avatar‘ sequels and can’t afford the time to helm yet another big undertaking.
The graphic novel series from Yukito Kishiro is set in the post-apocalyptic future and focuses on Alita, a cyborg who has lost all memories and is found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a Hunter Warrior or bounty hunter. The story traces Alita’s attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey.
“Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do Battle Angel,” Cameron said in a statement. “He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.”
Added Robert Rodriguez: “Battle Angel is an incredibly rich and vibrant epic in the tradition of Jim Cameron’s spectacular, character-driven films. Getting to work from Jim’s terrific and visionary script while learning the cutting edge techniques he’s pioneered is a master class in filmmaking. It’s an honor to explore the world of Alita along with Jim and Jon, whose films have impacted me for decades.”