Among the final major hits 20th Century Fox had before being swallowed hole by The Walt Disney Company was none other than Alita: Battle Angel. The manga adaptation had been in development for many years and despite only bringing in $85.7 million at the domestic box office, the film made bank internationally with $319 million in other territories (giving it $404.8 million worldwide). With as big a success as that one would think a sequel would at least be discussed on some level, and even the cast of the original movie thinks so as co-star Christoph Waltz is game to return.
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“Of course! Of course I would!” the Academy Award winner told Collider about being involved in a follow-up. “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.”
Waltz did have one theory about why there’s not been word of a sequel happening, and it’s all due to the absorbing of 20th Century Fox by Disney. Even almost a year later it’s unclear how the studio will continue into the future beyond simply as a label for Disney to produce a different type of film, for example Disney has already dropped the “Fox” from both 20th Century and Searchlight as labels. The actor went on to say that this might be why there’s been no movement on Alita 2.
“You know, it was Fox and Fox doesn’t exist anymore,” Waltz added. “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.”
Producer Jon Landau remains hopeful about a follow-up, telling fans of the movie in a previous interview: “Keep peppering our family now at Disney and [let them know] how important it is to have another Alita movie and hopefully we’ll venture there one day.”
The movie has a dedicated fanbase which petitions for more content daily. If all goes well, their pleas will not go unheard, but it could be 4-5 years before Alita even thinks of returning to theaters.
