Back in October of 2016, it was confirmed that actor Mahershala Ali would be joining the cast of director Robert Rodriguez and producer James Cameron's ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL. Then, at last night's Oscar celebration, the Best Supporting Actor winner told the press that he will be playing not one, but two roles in the upcoming film.
When asked to give more details, Ali had said, "I'm really excited about Alita:Battle Angel. I actually play two parts in that film. That was a blast. I literally wrapped that maybe two weeks ago." With that, Mahershala remained tight-lipped about what those roles would entail, but he sure sounds excited about the opportunity, doesn't he? For now, we know that at least one of the characters Ali will play is a villain named Vector – who orchestrates and rigs matches of a gladitorial nature for a game called Motorball in the film.
In addition to Ali, a whole gaggle of top-tier stars are set to appear in the film. I'm not joking, check out this list I found courtesy of Comicbook.com:
Christoph Waltz – as Doctor Dyson Ido, "The cybersurgeon who finds the cyborg (protagonist) and becomes her mentor"
Jackie Earle Haley – as "a monstrous cyborg in a villain role that will call for plenty of CG and greenscreen."
Ed Skrein – "a villainous cyborg who is in possession of a weapon called the Damascus blade."
Keean Johnson – as Hugo, the "love interest" and "a young man who teaches Alita how to play a gladiator-style game called Motorball but who also has a secret side job stealing robot parts."
Jorge Lendeborg Jr. – as the "cunning and sly friend" of Keean Johnson's character.
Lana Condor – as Koyomi, an orphaned teenage photographer in the manga.
Leonard Wu – as as Kinuba, a cyborg character in the manga.
Marko Zarror – as Ajakutty, a Motorball player who also appears in the original manga.
Jennifer Connelly – as one of the film's villains.
Michelle Rodriguez as Gelda.
Recently, our own Paul Shirey traveled to Austin, Texas to visit the set of ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, so be sure to keep an eye out for his coverage closet to the film's release!
At this time, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is currently scheduled for a July 20, 2017 release in theaters.