Mahershala Ali Playing 2 Roles In Alita: Battle Angel

Alita: Battle Angel's fantastic cast gives us hope for the live-action adaptation of the story.

At the Oscars last night, a new Oscar-winner told press that he will not only be playing one role in the film. Mahershala Ali, revealed to press last night at the Oscars that he will be not only be in Alita, but will be playing two roles in the upcoming film.

When asked about what he is up to in future projects, Ali replied, "I'm really excited about Alita:Battle Angel. I actually play two parts in that film. That was a blast. I literally wrapped that maybe two weeks ago." He did not describe what roles he will be playing or give any other details about them however.

It has already been revealed that Ali will be playing a villain in the movie, "a man named Vector who runs and fixes matches in a gladiator-style combat game called Motorball." His second role will be has not yet been confirmed.

The film has confirmed many stars for the movie, including Rosa Salazar as the lead. Included in the reported cast include the following:

• Christoph Waltz as Doctor Dyson Ido, "The cybersurgeon who finds the cyborg (protagonist) and becomes her mentor"
  
• Jackie Earle Haley as "a monstrous cyborg in a villain role that will call for plenty of CG and greenscreen."
• Ed Skrein as Zapan, "a villainous cyborg who is in possession of a weapon called the Damascus blade."
• Keean Johnson as Hugo, the "love interest" and "a young man who teaches Alita how to play a gladiator-style game called Motorball but who also has a secret side job stealing robot parts."
• Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as the "cunning and sly friend" of Keean Johnson's character.
• Lana Condor as Koyomi, an orphaned teenage photographer in the manga.
• Leonard Wu as Kinuba, a cyborg character in the manga.
  
• Marko Zaror as Ajakutty, a Motorball player who also appears in the original manga.
  
• Jennifer Connelly as one of the film's villains.
• Michelle Rodriguez as Gelda.
  

The film is being directed by Robert Rodriguez, and produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau. The film is set to release in IMAX on July 20, 2018.