James Cameron May Direct Battle Angel Adaptation Before Avatar 2
Posted 08.28.10 by BrentJS
Over a year before filmmaker James Cameron's Avatar would open to record-breaking box office numbers both domestically and internationally, it was revealed that Cameron’s follow-up movie might very well be a 3-D animated adaptation of the popular Japanese manga (comic book) series Battle Angel Alita (Gunnm in Japan). Due to the success of Avatar, Battle Angel has been all but forgotten amidst talk of the inevitable sequel to Avatar, but Cameron recently told ComingSoon, "It’s still on my radar." Now, Cameron has revealed to MTV that he might actually direct Battle Angel before Avatar 2.
You know, there's 'X' amount of time available, and I do want to do another Avatar film—probably two—and I'm talking to Fox about that right now. There's a strong possibility that I might insert [Battle Angel] in between before I do that.
Battle Angel Alita was created by Yukito Kishiro and originally published in Business Jump magazine in 1990, eventually stretching out into a nine-volume comic book series, two of which have been adapted into original anime movies. The series takes place in the 26th Century and revolves around Alita, a heavily damaged cyborg who is found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor. The doctor repairs Alita’s chassis, but all memories of her previous "life" are gone except for her knowledge of the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst, which she uses to become a Hunter Warrior or bounty hunter. Through her adventures as a Hunter Warrior, Alita attempts to rediscover her past identity.