One, Two, Alita’s coming for you…
Earlier today, entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter, er… reported that actor Jackie Earle Haley signed on for a role in James Cameron’s Battle Angel Alita (GUNM) film.
According to the publication, it’s believed that Haley “will play a monstrous cyborg in a villain role that will call for plenty of CG and greenscreen.” The production crew aims to begin filming in Austin this October.
Jackie Earle Haley has been active in the industry since 1972. He made his début in animated sitcom Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, in which he played Jamie. He made his first film appearance in the same year in The Outside Man, which saw Haley playing desperately lonely youth Eric. In 1976, Haley played Kelly Leak in both The Bad News Bears films.
More recently, Haley played the role of Rorschach in 2009 film Watchmen, which scored the actor a nomination for Best Supporting Actor by the Online Film Critics Society. In 2010, Haley would become the new face of fear, assuming the mantle of Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot. Haley is currently filming The Dark Tower, in which he plays Sayre.
Previously, we reported that Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) will play the lead role of Alita in the film. Austrian actor Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) is currently in negotiations to play Doctor Dyson Ido, who finds Alita and ultimately becomes her mentor.
Battle Angel Alita will hit theaters on July 20, 2018. Collider describes the movie as:
Based on the manga series by Yukito Kishiro, Battle Angel takes place in the 26th century and tells the story of an amnesiac female cyborg who is rescued from a scrapyard by a doctor, rebuilt with no memory of her previous life excepting her kickass martial arts skills, and becomes a bounty hunter tracking down vicious criminals. Salazar has a pretty impressive resume for an up-and-coming actress, especially for only having been on the scene for the last five years, and after a notable turns in Insurgent, The Scorch Trials, and the wonderful FX comedy Man Seeking Woman she’s become a name to watch. Now, she’s landed what could be her breakout role.
Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City) was hand-picked by Cameron to direct the project, which features both James Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment partner Jon Landau as producers. According to Collider, Rodriguez is working from Cameron’s original script, though he’s likely to “punch it up with his own style.” Cameron commented on the collaboration:
Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do Battle Angel,” stated Cameron. “He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
