James Cameron has proven himself thus far unbeatable with his massive Avatar franchise. The first two movies are two of the highest-grossing films ever made so, with a third Avatar movie barely over a month away, expectations are certainly high. However, some fans are actually interested in a different Cameron franchise, Alita: Battle Angel and are still hoping for a sequel. Now, Cameron’s latest comments are giving me reason to hope that film will really happen.
The adaptation of Alita: Battle Angel (written and produced by James Cameron) has proven itself something of a cult classic. The film also has a dedicated fan base, the “Alita Army” who continue to hope that a sequel will one day materialize. I’m certainly one of those people, so I was excited to see James Cameron tell Empire that at least one more film, and possibly two more, are something that could really happen. Cameron said…
I appreciate the loyalty of the Alita fans. Robert Rodriguez and I have sworn a blood oath to do at least one more Alita movie. In fact, we’re thinking of an architecture that bridges to a third film, but we’ll be satisfied if we can make one more. And we’re making progress on that.
Cameron claims there’s a “blood oath” involved between himself and director Robert Rodriguez. It seems they both really want to make a movie happen, and he does say they’re “making progress,” which at least implies that this isn’t just talk, but there’s a real possibility it could happen.
Alita: Battle Angel’s ending basically tees up a sequel. Unfortunately, the movie’s high cost, combined with box office receipts that didn’t cover the cost, made the odds of another movie being greenlit seem quite unlikely. Of course, since then, Cameron has made Fox and its parent company Disney a couple of billion dollars, so it’s possible Cameron may have favors to call in that might help such a movie happen.
Of course, even in this good news, there are some big questions. James Cameron says he wants to make “at least” one more movie, but that they could also put together two more and make a trilogy. But, if they make a second movie with the intention of making a third and the second film is also not well received at the box office, we could end up right back where we are now.
Still, it does seem Alita advocates Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron will have plenty of opportunities to discuss making future movies in the franchise. Cameron reveals that the two now live very close to each other, so they can always chat about it when they run into each other at the coffee shop or the grocery store. As for just how close Cameron and Rodriguez now live to each other, the former said…
Now that I have a home in Austin, Texas, about three miles from [Robert’s] place, I think we’ll probably get more serious about that as soon as I wrap the mix here in a few weeks.
James Cameron has two more Avatar movies to make, but exactly when that will happen is unclear. Perhaps there will be time for him to sit down with Robert Rodriguez and put a plan together for a new Alita that Rodriguez can direct while Cameron gets back to finishing his Pandora set-flicks.
In the meantime, stream Alita: Battle Angel using a Hulu subscription.