Fans of Robert Rodriguez are undoubtedly happy to see the director close to releasing a film in the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. Unfortunately for a specific sect of those followers, it’s not Alita: Battle Angel 2; though the Ben Affleck thriller Hypnotic does look pretty amazing in its own right. Still, that Alita sequel seems to be further off than most would like, and Rodriguez admits that in its own way, the progression of the Avatar sequels are impacting such developments.
Our sister site Total Film caught up with the director of the 2019 cult favorite as he prepares to enter the cinematic field of battle once more. It was seen as the perfect opportunity to dig further into just what’s going on in terms of the often-discussed sequel that’s still demanded by fans. As such, Robert Rodriguez shared the following remarks that admit to a pretty predictable predicament:
Yeah, [James Cameron, Jon Landau, and I] have been talking about it, so we would love to make one. We haven't set it for sure yet, but we're definitely hoping to and talking about it a lot. They're slammed with all the Avatar stuff, but they've definitely been engaging in it.
Yes, the production on Pandora’s continuing saga is in a pretty good spot, with James Cameron filming three Avatar sequels at once through his previous round of production. However, that still leaves quite a bit of post-production work that’s needed to make the Sully family look their best. With at least three sequels planned to follow The Way of Water, one can see why those pictures are currently the priority.
It’s not all negative when it comes to the intertwined dance that’s going on between Avatar and Alita: Battle Angel. Just recently, producer Jon Landau offered some hopeful Alita sequel developments, with the intent to use the advances of technology that came from Avatar: The Way of Water’s production in the hypothetical follow-up. Which is definitely keeping it in the family, as Alita: Battle Angel benefitted from that same sort of development boost coming from the original Avatar.
Try as we might, the world will never be able to separate these properties simply because they both came into existence thanks to James Cameron’s vision. While Robert Rodriguez rewrote Alita: Battle Angel for free and claimed that franchise as his own, Cameron and Jon Landau will always be the enthusiastic producing partners they’ve been since Alita started development alongside Avatar. So long as they’re still talking about this potential sequel, fans should keep hope alive in their own way, if only to prove that the market for such a project is still out there.
For the moment, there’s no confirmation that Alita: Battle Angel 2 talks have left the inner circle of Rosa Salazar, Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron and Jon Landau. So patience is still going to be required from all who call themselves a part of the Alita Army. In the meantime, Avatar: The Way of Water is currently in theaters, as well as available for rental or purchase through major digital platforms.
Meanwhile, Robert Rodriguez fans have Hypnotic to look forward to, which is set to open in theaters this weekend. Finally, for those of you looking to stream Alita: Battle Angel, you can currently do just that through access to a Hulu subscription.
