Alita: Battle Angel 2 has been in the works for some time, and updates have been slow. According to producer Jon Landau, the sequel will utilize the innovative tech James Cameron pioneered for Avatar: The Way of Water.
How will Avatar: The Way of Water help Alita: Battle Angel 2?
Speaking to Screen Rant, Landau talked about the upcoming sequel to Alita. Cameron’s longtime collaborator revealed that they’ve learned a lot about “facial nuance,” thanks in part to Avatar.
“We’re working on it,” said Landau of Alita: Battle Angel 2. “I think what we’ve learned from Avatar is how much more facial nuance and subtlety that we can get into characters that we want to be emotional and emote that are humanoid. Alita would not have been possible, but for what we did on Avatar. Avatar: Way of Water would not be what it is but what we did for Alita. And now let’s put that back and give it back to Alita. We’re talking to Robert and talking to Rosa and all is good.”
The 2019 film was directed by Robert Rodriguez from a screenplay written by James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, and Rodriguez. Based on the manga series Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel was produced by Cameron and Jon Landau.
Alita: Battle Angel also starred Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly (Top Gun: Maverick), Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), and Jackie Earle Haley. It was 20th Century Fox’s last film to release before its monumental Disney acquisition. The film earned a worldwide gross of over $405 million at the box office.