Jackie Earle Haley joins up with Robert Rodriquez’s Alita: Battle Angel

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

As James Cameron will be occupied in the world of Pandora for the foreseeable future, he's passed off directing duties to his long-awaited adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's "Battle Angel Alita" to Robert Rodriquez. Twentieth Century Fox is planning to kick off production on ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL this October and the project has been gathering up cast members including Rosa Salazar (MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS) and Christoph Waltz (SPECTRE).

THR reports that the latest addition to the cast of ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL will be Jackie Earle Haley and he'll be playing, surprise, surprise, the villain. There's not much information on Haley's role but it's said that he'll be playing "a monstrous cyborg" which "will call for plenty of CG and greenscreen." Rosa Salazar will play the titular character in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, a cyborg with no memory found in a scrapyard by a scientist, and Christoph Waltz has been in talks for the role of Dr. Dyson Ido, the cybersurgeon who finds the cyborg and becomes her mentor. 

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.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is set for a July 20, 2018 release.