An Alita: Battle Angel sequel is probably not high on Disney’s list of priorities. 20th Century Fox and producer James Cameron brought the manga property to life beautifully, but shortly before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the sci-fi pic underwhelmed at the box-office. The door was left wide open for sequels, but it’s unlikely we’ll ever see them. For star Christoph Waltz and the rest of us fans, that’s a shame.
Christoph Waltz Wants a Sequel Too
The actor starred in the Robert Rodriguez thrill ride as Dr. Dyson Ido, who’s Alita’s (Rosa Salazar) father figure. Waltz brought warmth to the heartfelt action movie. Most likely, Waltz was signed on for sequels, but there hasn’t been any word on if they stand a chance of happening. During an interview with Collider, though, Waltz revealed he’s “surprised and disappointed” he hasn’t heard about a sequel:
“Of course I would [want to do a sequel]! But, you know, I’m as wise as you are. I haven’t heard anything and I’m a little disappointed and surprised that I haven’t heard a thing so far, because I know that it has followers. I know that people liked it and aside from what others said, I loved it and I liked working on it and I liked the result. You know, it was Fox and Fox doesn’t exist anymore. Now it’s Disney. Maybe it doesn’t fit into the Disneyfication, but I have no clue. I have no clue. Maybe they’re working on something and I wouldn’t be the first person to hear, but meanwhile, I haven’t heard anything.”
The Box-Office Performance
It’s actually not too surprising Waltz hasn’t heard anything about a sequel in the year since the movie’s release. While Alita: Battle Angel received mostly positive reviews and gained adamant fans, the Cameron-produced epic only made $85 million in the United States. For a movie with a production cost of over $170 million, it’s a dismal box-office figure.
The Rest of the World Were Fans
The movie, however, was huge in China and other key foriegn territories. Worldwide, Alita: Battle Angel made over $400 million at the box-office. To be successful, a movie has to typically make three times its budget at the box-office. Considering China is such an important marketplace for studios now, though, maybe Disney would consider a sequel. It seems unlikely, but hey, stranger sequels have happened.
Why We Want a Sequel
It’s honestly too bad because Alita: Battle Angel is an exceptionally grand piece of spectacle. The world is vast and believable, the action is bonkers, and Salazar gave a star-making turn as Alita. She brought so much emotion, believability, and wonder to that movie. She made it all feel real. At the end, Alita revealed the big bad behind the franchise, Nova, played by Edward Norton of all people. It was a shock to see Norton providing a cameo appearance in a movie of this scope. There was something so exciting about the idea of Norton being up to no good in this world as an all-powerful, evil geniu. Norton hardly ever appears in movies as major as Alita.
We most likely won’t see Alita and Nova faceoff in the future, but we can dream, right? Maybe after James Cameron’s Avatar sequels make Disney heaps of money, the discussion between them could happen. It’s not like an Alita sequel has to happen right this second. Cameron could easily return to the world ten years down the line with a sequel. We hope he does, because Alita: Battle Angel is such a giddy and sincere epic.
We hope you enjoy these products! But keep in mind, Grit Daily might take small cut of the profit on the items recommended here—but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in them. We only recommend products that we would buy or use ourselves, so don’t be wary of our suggestions.
