It has taken decades to finally make it to the big-screen, but now you’re going to have to wait even longer to set your big eyes on the James Cameron produced, Robert Rodriguez directed science fiction epic, Alita: Battle Angel.
Fox have announced that the Japanese Manga adaptation will be pushed from its mid-July release to December 21st. The shift in date shouldn’t be too worrying for a film that requires a multitude of post-production SFX, but this move will put Alita: Battle Angel in direct competition with Aquaman, Bumblebee, and the Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly comedy Holmes and Watson. They’re all established brands, whereas the James Cameron pet-project is an ambitious sci-fi adapted from a cult source, and we all remember how well Ghost in the Shell fared.
SEE ALSO: Robert Rodriguez explains Alita: Battle Angel’s anime eyes
There was also news of another release date shift for Shane Black’s The Predator, although this one isn’t quite as drastic, with the highly anticipated film moving from August to September 14th.
The studio’s final announcement wasn’t part of the release window merry-go-round, but confirmation that Death on the Nile, a sequel to Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express, will shoot later this year for a November 8th, 2019 bow.
Does any of this calendar shuffling worry you, or is it all part of the movie machine? How many examples are there of oft-delayed films actually turning out to be any good? Let us know what you think in the comments section…
Visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY) create a groundbreaking new heroine in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an action-packed story of hope, love and empowerment. Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. Everything is new to Alita, every experience a first. As she learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from her mysterious past while her street-smart new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers instead to help trigger her memories. A growing affection develops between the two until deadly forces come after Alita and threaten her newfound relationships. It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities that could be used to save the friends and family she’s grown to love. Determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, Alita sets out on a journey that will lead her to take on the injustices of this dark, corrupt world, and discover that one young woman can change the world in which she lives.
Alita: Battle Angel is set for release on December 21st 2018 and features a cast that includes Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Michelle Rodriguez (The Fate of the Furious), Keean Johnson (Nashville), Jackie Earle Haley (Preacher), Jennifer Connelly (American Pastoral), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), Eiza Gonzalez (From Dusk Till Dawn), Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage), Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse) and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming).
