Given how long James Cameron has been talking about adapting Yukito Kishiro's "Battle Angel Alita", I'd imagine that some of you were disappointed when he passed directing duties over to Robert Rodriquez. Cameron will still remain very much involved with the project, but it seems that the world(s) of Pandora will be keeping him busy for the foreseeable future. Rosa Salazar (MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS) is already on board to play the titular character in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, a cyborg with no memory found in a scrapyard by a scientist, but now THR reports that Christoph Waltz is in early negotiations to star in the film as well.
Should those talks find Waltz agreeable to joining up with ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, he'll be playing Dr. Dyson Ido, the cybersurgeon who finds the cyborg and becomes her mentor. I'm not overly familiar with the story behind ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, but I'm always up for watching Christoph Waltz doing his thing. Robert Rodriquez is looking to kick off production on the film this fall which is eyeing a July 2018 release.
A synopsis for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL:
Set in the 26th century, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL tells the story of Alita, an amnesiac female cyborg who is rescued from a scrapyard by a doctor. The rebuilt Alita, remembering only her training in a deadly martial art, becomes a hunter-warrior, tracking down and eliminating vicious criminals. Within the context of an epic action-adventure, the film will explore a young woman’s journey of self-discovery and finding love.
Christoph Waltz's upcoming projects include Justin Chadwick TULIP FEVER and Alexander Payne's DOWNSIZING, due to be released on February 24, 2017 and December 25, 2017, respectively.