Rosa Salazar is game to play Alita for a very, very long time

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

When ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL arrived earlier this year it surprised skeptics by debuting at the top of the box office, all before making a tidy sum of over $400 million around the world. Considering its lofty price tag that made the movie a solid hit, but perhaps not a big enough one to make a sequel a done deal right away. Mix that in with the fact ALITA was one of the last major movies released by 20th Century Fox before it was bought by Disney, and no one knows what the plan is for a sequel. But someone who is indeed down for more is star Rosa Salazar, who despite not knowing the future for the character is committed to playing her for as long as she’s able to stand.

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Salazar appeared at the Television Critics Association to promote her new Amazon series UNDONE recently when /Film got a chance to ask her about what’s in store for more ALITA, if anything.  

“I would play Alita ‘til my last breath,” Salazar said. “I would, and thanks to the performance capture technology, I probably could.”

After a $42 million five-day frame earlier this year (Feb. 14-18), the long-gestating movie from producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez went on to make $85 million domestically, which is hardly enough to justify the $170 million price tag. But thanks to an impressive overseas run, including $133 million in China, the manga adaptation found its audience around the world. That $404 million final total may be enough to warrant a sequel from the new owners at Disney, but still, Salazar doesn’t know what the plan is. “Not yet, but buy those Blu-rays,” Salazar said. “But no, I haven’t heard anything yet.”

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In the time since its release, the movie has gained a bit of a cult following, inspiring the #AlitaArmy on social media to try and get a sequel going. The movie was also received with favorable reviews from critics, currently sitting at a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, with people praising the groundbreaking visual effects and motion capture, as well as Salazar’s performance. The finale even set itself up for a sequel, with Edward Norton being revealed as the big villain Nova, who runs the sky city of Zalem, and whom Alita means to kill.

“Yeah, I mean, they had a crazy merger,” Salazar continued. “People are gaining jobs, people are losing jobs. The whole Disney/Fox acquisition is so involved, this isn’t the right time for me to call Alan Horn and be like, ‘Hey bro, I know you got a lotta stuff going on, but like what about ‘Alita 2’?”

ALITA is an incredibly fun popcorn movie that's easy to get swept up in, what with all the cyborgs running around slicing each other up everywhere they go and Alita taking them all down like a ninja. While there was a lot stuffed into the movie it certainly established a complex, entertaining world worth exploring more, even if it's just to see Alita stab a sword through a goggle-eyed Ed Norton.