Alita: Battle Angel

## Alita Universe: Films

*"I do not stand by in the presence of evil."*
―Alita
***Alita: Battle Angel*** is an American cyberpunk sci-fi action film made by 20th Century Fox, based on Yukito Kishiro's manga series *Gunnm*. It was released in the United States on February 14, 2019, and re-released on October 30, 2020.

## Synopsis

From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (*Avatar*) and Robert Rodriguez (*Sin City*), comes *Alita: Battle Angel*, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she's grown to love.

## Cast

*Main article: Alita: Battle Angel | Credits*
* Rosa Salazar as Alita
* Christoph Waltz as Dyson Ido
* Jennifer Connelly as Chiren
* Mahershala Ali as Vector
* Ed Skrein as Zapan
* Jackie Earle Haley as Grewishka
* Keean Johnson as Hugo
* Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Tanji
* Lana Condor as Koyomi
* Idara Victor as Gerhad
* Jeff Fahey as McTeague
* Eiza Gonzalez as Nyssiana
* Derek Mears as Romo
* Leonard Wu as Kinuba
* Rick Yune as Master Clive Lee
* Elle LaMont as Screwhead
* Michelle Rodriguez as Gelda (uncredited)
* Jai Courtney as Jashugan (uncredited)
* Edward Norton as Nova (uncredited)

## Appearances

### Locations

* Earth
	+ Zalem
	+ Iron City
		- Scrapyard
		- Barrio Viejo
			* Dyson Ido's Clinic
		- Motorball Stadium
		- Slum District
			* Street Motorball
			* Kissing Bridge
		- Barrio Latino
		- Marketplaces
		- Medina
		- Factory District
			* Factory 33
				+ Vector's Penthouse
				+ Chiren's Laboratory
		- Cathedral
		- Victory Gate
		- Hydrowall
		- Corazon D'Acero
			* Kansas Bar
			* Functiona de Ciudad
		- Hugo's Crib
		- Barrio Asiatico
	+ Underworld
	+ Badlands
		- Farms
		- Wastelands
* Sun
* Moon
* Mars (mentioned)

### Organizations

* United Republics of Mars (flashbacks & mentioned)
	+ Berserkers
* Motorball
* Estrella
* Palomas
* Factory
* Hunter-Warriors
* Iron City Police (mentioned)
* Teatro de las Artes (logo)
* White Hot Palm
* Cerveza
* Hunter
* Vino
* GIN
* Fine Rum
* Vaca
* XH
* Gustfront

### Items

* Scrapyard Backhoes
* Dyson Ido's Energy Detector
* Berserker Plasma
* Berserker Bodies
	+ Alita's Berserker Body
* Alita's Cyber Body
* Iron City Taxis
* Motorball Ball
* Exploder's Jet Engine

### Creatures

* Dogs
	+ Little Marks
	+ Hellhounds
* Cats
* Insects
	+ Fleas (mentioned)
* Pigeons (indirectly mentioned)
* Parrots
* Bunnies (toys & painting)
* Bears (toy)
* Jaguars (statue)
* Cows (figure)
* Moths (tattoo)

### Mentioned

* Citizen No. 0403989
* Citizen No. 2394605
* Citizen No. 9839454
* Citizen No. 4377842
* Citizen No. 8675309
* Citizen No. 0964822
* Citizen No. 4666002
* God

## Production

In 1995, the Japanese manga *Battle Angel Alita* was brought to James Cameron and Jon Landau's attention by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Cameron "fell in love" with the concept and passionately began working on a film.

In 1999, James Cameron bought the rights of Alita.

In June 2000, it was revealed that 20th Century Fox had been registered the domain 'battleangelalita.com' on behalf of James Cameron, as well as 'battleangelmovie.com' sometime later.

In April 2003, James Cameron officially announced *Battle Angel* as a film, and said that he would direct it. In May of the same year, Cameron confirmed that the film's script was being written.

In 2004, Cameron said that *Battle Angel* was in pre-production at that time, and that they had just finished up the shooting draft (script).

In 2005, reel arts had already been made, as later revealed. In June, *The Hollywood Reporter* reported that *Battle Angel* was being delayed due to Cameron's "Project 880", which he may start filming on it before *Battle Angel*; whose script was proving difficult to adapt.

In February 2006, *The Hollywood Reporter* reported that *Battle Angel* was slated for a 2009 release. In May, *Variety* reported that Cameron had spent the past 10 months developing the technology necessary to bring *Battle Angel* to the bigscreen. In June, Cameron explained that *Battle Angel* was designed as a trilogy, just like *Avatar*, and that if the first films worked then the next two would be made. He also recognized Robert Rodriguez' work on *Sin City*, however, he said it was not what he was looking for.

In May 2008, *The Hollywood Reporter* revealed that Cameron wanted to do "something a lot smaller" (*The Dive*) after *Avatar*, thus delaying *Battle Angel* again.

In July 2009, Cameron explained that he was still committed to making the film, but still with another projects first. In August, Cameron explained how the three technologies (Fusion Camera System, Facial motion capture and Simulcam) used in *Avatar* would benefit *Battle Angel*. In December, following the realease of *Avatar*, Cameron stated that the project had "a very good script", and that they had done about a year of production design, including an art reel showing the arc of the film. He also mentioned again the technologies that would benefit *Battle Angel*.

In February 2010, Jon Landau revealed that screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis had worked on writing the film. He also mentioned how he had discussed and insisted Cameron and the team to change the title of the film to *Alita: Battle Angel*. The same month, Cameron explained the rename, and how it would serve to the sequels, like "*Alita: Fallen Angel*", "*Alita: Avenging Angel*", or others, depending on the box-office earnings. In August, Cameron said that the project was still going on, and that he wrote the script back before he started *Avatar*.

In January 2011, Cameron stated he was busy but that the film was still going on. He also revealed he wanted to include the deadly high-speed competition of Motorball from the third and fourth books, along with elements from the first two books. In June, he also stated that the film was on hold until the two *Avatar* sequels were done.

In May and April 2012, Cameron reiterated that the film was still going on, but that it was "not going to happen for a few years", and described it as "just a great, kick-ass story."

In July 2013, Cameron set a 2017 date for the beggining of the film's production.

In October 2015, *The Hollywood Reporter* revealed that Robert Rodriguez was in negotiations to direct *Alita: Battle Angel*, with James Cameron and Jon Landau as producers. Rodriguez was hired the same year, and he had been brought to the film in order to condense and combine Cameron's 186-page screenplay and other 600 note pages (from about 1,000) into what could be the shooting script, as later revealed.

In April 2016, Rodriguez was confirmed as director, however it was reported that the film still was not greenlighted by budgetary issues, since 20th Century Fox wanted to reduce the budget to the $175-$200 million range. It was also revealed that they were casting the female protagonist, Alita. Maika Monroe, Rosa Salazar, Zendaya and Bella Thorne had been tested for the role according to *The Hollywood Reporter*. In May, Salazar was hired for the role, and it was reported that 20th Century Fox had been scheduled the film to July 20, 2018. In August, it was reported that Christoph Waltz was in negotiations to play Dr. Dyson Ido. In September, it was announced that Jackie Earle Haley had been cast as a cyborg villain, and it was reported that Ed Skrein was in talks for a role in the film, which was later confirmed to be the antagonist Zapan. In December, Patrick Gathron confirmed he was playing a character in the movie.

## Trailers

ALITA BATTLE ANGEL - Trailer 1Alita Battle Angel - Official Trailer (HD) - 20th Century FOXAlita Battle Angel - Official Trailer - Battle Ready (HD) - 20th Century FOX
## Trivia

* *Alita: Battle Angel* is the highest grossing and highest rated live-action adaptation of an anime or manga by the western film industry.
* The Hispanic American adaptation of the title is "*Battle Angel: La Última Guerrera*", which translates to "*Battle Angel: The Last Warrior*".
* The film contains references to *Terminator*; a previous film franchise from James Cameron.
* The making and authorized distribution of this film supported over 15,000 jobs and involved hundreds of thousands of work hours.

## References

The Wiki has a collection of images and media related to **Alita: Battle Angel**.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 James Cameron On Balancing *Alita: Battle Angel* and *Avatar* Sequels
2. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel* (2019) - Box Office Mojo
3. ↑ How James Cameron And Robert Rodriguez Are Joining Alita Army For *Battle Angel*'s Re-Release
4. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel* - 20th Century Studios
5. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel* (2019) - Trivia - IMDb
6. ↑ *Avatar* Producer Says *Battle Angel Alita* Has A New Name, Will Follow *Avatar 2* (Wayback Machine)
7. ↑ Rosa Salazar's *Alita: Battle Angel* Audition Made the Director Cry | Fandango All Access
8. ↑ James Cameron interested in Alita
9. ↑ *Battle Angel Alita* Domains
10. ↑ Why *Alita: Battle Angel* Took 16 Years to Come to the Screen
11. ↑ James Cameron talks more *ALIENS* and *BATTLE ANGEL ALITA*!
12. ↑ Cameron's *Alita* confirmed?
13. ↑ Cameron's *Alita* in pre-production
14. ↑ Cameron Talks About *Battle Angel*
15. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel* | Bonus Feature: From Manga to Screen | 20th Century FOX
16. ↑ James Cameron to Delay *Battle Angel*?
17. ↑ News on Cameron's *Battle Angel*
18. ↑ Manga's the rights fit for majors
19. ↑ *Titanic* Mastermind James Cameron's King-Size Comeback: Two Sci-Fi Trilogies
20. ↑ Cameron Not Planning on Battle Angel after Avatar Film
21. ↑ Cameron: Still Looking at *Battle Angel* 'Very Seriously' (Updated)
22. ↑ James Cameron Lists Needed Tech for *Battle Angel* Film
23. ↑ *AVATAR* DIRECTOR OFFERS UPDATE ON *BATTLE ANGEL ALITA* ADAPTATION (Wayback Machine)
24. ↑ Cameron: *Battle Angel* Has Script, 1 Year of Design Work
25. ↑ *Avatar* Producer Says *Battle Angel Alita* Has A New Name, Will Follow *Avatar 2*
26. ↑ "They crushed it!" James Cameron on how Team *Avatar* built *Alita: Battle Angel*.
27. ↑ James Cameron: *Battle Angel Alita* 'Still On My Radar'
28. ↑ *BATTLE ANGEL* Update from James Cameron
29. ↑ Cameron's Manga series on hold
30. ↑ EXCLUSIVE: James Cameron is still going to do *BATTLE ANGEL ALITA*, but not for a while!!!
31. ↑ James Cameron: *Avatar* Will Do *More Good* Than *Battle Angel*
32. ↑ Cameron: Will Start Developing *Battle Angel Alita* in 2017
33. ↑ James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez Teaming Up for *Battle Angel Alita* Movie
34. ↑ James Cameron Producing *Alita: Battle Angel* with Robert Rodriguez Directing
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 *ALITA* - The cast told us their experience -INTERVIEW
36. ↑ James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez's *Alita: Battle Angel* Gets Creepy First Trailer
37. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel 2* potential release date, cast and everything you need to know
38. ↑ Zendaya Among Finalists for James Cameron's *Battle Angel* Movie (Exclusive)
39. ↑ Exclusive: Rosa Salazar to Lead *Battle Angel Alita*
40. ↑ Fox Dates *Alita: Battle Angel*; Shifts *The Predator* and Two Marvel Movies
41. ↑ Christoph Waltz in Talks to Star in James Cameron's *Alita: Battle Angel* (Exclusive)
42. ↑ James Cameron's *Alita: Battle Angel* Casts Jackie Earle Haley (Exclusive)
43. ↑ Ed Skrein in Talks to Join James Cameron's *Alita: Battle Angel*
44. ↑ *Deadpool* Bad Guy Ed Skrein Joins James Cameron's *Alita: Battle Angel* (Exclusive)
45. ↑ Patrick Gathron on Facebook
46. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel* (live-action movie) - Anime News Network
47. ↑ *Alita: Battle Angel - The Art and Making of the Movie*
48. ↑ Twitter post
49. ↑ Reddit post

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