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Collider Site: Live-Action Battle Angel Alita Film Casts Rosa Salazar (Update)
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Film news website Collider reported on Thursday that the planned live-action film of Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM) manga has cast Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Man Seeking Woman) in the lead role. She was one of three leading choices alongside Maika Monroe (It Follows, Independence Day: Resurgence) and Zendaya (K.C. Undercover, Spider-Man: Homecoming).
The Hollywood Reporter described the film:
Alita: Battle Angel tells of a female cyborg that is discovered in a trash yard by a scientist. With no memory of her previous life except her deadly martial arts training, the woman becomes a bounty hunter, tracking down criminals.The action-adventure story is meant to serve as a backdrop to themes of self-discovery and the search for love.
According to The Hollywood Reporter last month, the movie has not yet been officially greenlit, as 20th Century Fox is negotiating the project's budget down from the $175-$200 million range.
Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, Spy Kids) is in negotiations to direct the film. James Cameron and Jon Landau are producing the project. The film is currently titled Alita: Battle Angel.
Cameron reaffirmed in 2014 that he will not work on Battle Angel Alita until he has finished directing the sequels to his Avatar film, which are in pre-production.
Shutter Island's Laeta Kalogridis has penned a script for the project.
Kishiro's manga ran in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine from 1990 to 1995, followed by the 1995-1996 follow-up Ashen Victor and the single-volume GUNNM: Other Stories. The story continued in 2001 with the partial retelling Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, which moved to Kodansha's Evening magazine as the result of an issue between Kishiro and Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine. The newest manga, Gunnm: Kasei Senki (Battle Angel Alita: The Martian War Chronicles), launched in Kodansha's Evening magazine in 2014.
Update: The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Rosa Salazar will play the lead role in Battle Angel Alita.
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