James Cameron Not Giving Up on ‘Alita’ Sequel

So, I was reading that James Cameron is absolutely committed – he even used the phrase ‘blood oath’ – to making another Alita: Battle Angel movie. Apparently, he’s dead serious about bringing that big-eyed cyborg back to the big screen, and it sounds like he won’t rest until it happens. It’s good to know he’s still passionate about the project, even after the first film’s performance.

Despite the 2019 film Alita: Battle Angel not getting a sequel yet, the producer is still hoping to continue the story based on Yukito Kishiro’s popular cyberpunk manga. It’s been six years since the first movie, but they haven’t abandoned the idea.

Cameron recently told Empire Magazine that he and Robert Rodriguez, who directed the first Alita: Battle Angel film, are planning to make at least one more movie based on the story.

James Cameron says he and Robert Rodriguez have promised fans they’ll make at least one more Alita movie, acknowledging the dedication of the film’s fanbase. He shared this news in a recent magazine interview, which is available on newsstands this Thursday, November 20th.

If the new movie performs well, there’s a chance we might see a third Alita film, continuing her story.

We’re considering a plan that could lead to a third movie, but we’d be happy to make just one more. Things are moving forward, and now that I’ve moved to Austin, Texas – just a few miles from Robert – I expect we’ll start working on it more intensely once I finish the sound mixing in a few weeks.”

While nothing is confirmed, things are looking good for fans of Alita – especially since director Robert Rodriguez has publicly expressed his interest in making another film.

Back in May, Robert Rodriguez told Joe Rogan that the original city set from his first film is still fully intact at his studio. He described it as a massive, 20-foot-high set with seven streets, possibly the largest of its kind anywhere. He also mentioned they definitely plan to make another film, and invited Rogan to come see it, explaining the entire set remains in his parking lot.

In 2023, Jon Landau, a producer on the film, announced that a follow-up movie was being planned, and Rosa Salazar, who starred in the original as Alita, would reprise her role.

Watch the Trailer for Alita: Battle Angel

Released in 2019, Alita: Battle Angel tells the story of a cyborg who wakes up with no memory. After a compassionate scientist brings her back to life, she embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about her past and find her place in a future, ruined world.

The movie, featuring actors like Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, and Mahershala Ali, earned $405 million globally despite receiving somewhat mixed reactions from reviewers. Its production cost was around $200 million.

10 Great Movies You Never Knew Were Based on Comics

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

I recently revisited Blue Is the Warmest Color, and it’s fascinating how much discussion centered around its explicit scenes – both the intimate ones and, oddly enough, the lengthy shots of spaghetti! What a lot of viewers didn’t realize, though, is that this acclaimed French drama is actually based on a comic book – Jul Maroh’s graphic novel of the same name. While the film, starring Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux, is a beautiful and moving story about a young woman discovering her sexuality, it does take some creative freedoms with the source material. Specifically, the filmmakers changed the main character’s name and toned down some of the heavier themes explored in the novel, like homophobia and substance abuse.

From Hell (2001)

Johnny Depp was often cast in period films where he had to adopt an accent, and From Hell is a prime example of this trend. The movie, set in London during the Jack the Ripper murders, stars Depp as a detective who uncovers a dangerous plot. It’s based on a nearly 600-page graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, but the film simplifies the story and deviates from the source material. Most notably, the movie focuses on the detective investigating the crimes, while the book tells the story from the perspective of the murderer.

Ghost World (2001)

If you enjoyed the movie Ghost World, you might know it’s based on a comic book by Daniel Clowes. For those who didn’t, that’s the story behind it! The film follows two teenage outsiders, played by Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch, after they graduate high school. One becomes fixated on an older man’s dating life, while the other struggles in art class. Directed by Terry Zwigoff, the movie captures the unique style and feeling of Clowes’ original comic, becoming a defining work of its time.

Judge Dredd (1995)

Though often mocked, Judge Dredd remains a unique film in science fiction and a curious part of Sylvester Stallone’s filmography. The movie depicts a bleak, overpopulated future where judges – who act as police, jury, and executioner – maintain order with ruthless efficiency. While it seems like something from director Paul Verhoeven’s imagination, the film is actually based on the Judge Dredd comic strip created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra for the British magazine 2000 AD. The movie leans more into explosive action than the comic’s pointed satire of police brutality, but it did give us one of the most memorable lines in pop culture: “I AM THE LAW.”

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

The Kingsman movies and comic books are closely linked. While the films are based on the comics, the connection goes deeper. The first comic, The Secret Service, came out in 2012, and later issues in the series adopted the Kingsman name after the movie was released. The first film follows the story of the first comic, starring Taron Egerton as a young man recruited into a secret spy organization known for its stylish suits. The comic series was created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, with Matthew Vaughn also contributing uncredited work. Vaughn went on to direct all three Kingsman movies, as well as the spy comedy Argylle, which shares a similar tone.

My Friend Dahmer (2017)

I recently saw My Friend Dahmer, and it’s a truly unsettling film. It focuses on Jeffrey Dahmer’s high school years, and what makes it so creepy is that it’s based on a true story, specifically the experiences of his friend, Derf. Alex Wolff does a fantastic job playing Dahmer, and the movie draws heavily from Derf Backderf’s actual drawings and memoir about their time together. It’s fascinating, and frankly disturbing, to see the seeds of a notorious killer being sown in adolescence, before he ever committed any crimes. The whole thing feels incredibly authentic because it is authentic – Derf’s graphic novel provided the source material for the film.

Oblivion (2013)

The movie Oblivion is based on a graphic novel that, surprisingly, was never actually published. Director Joseph Kosinski originally envisioned the story as a graphic novel and even had a publisher lined up, but his real goal was always to bring it to life as a film. The story—about two people remaining on a desolate Earth tasked with eliminating alien invaders—lends itself well to the graphic novel format. Kosinski has said he still plans to finish the graphic novel, and it would likely be a compelling read even for those already familiar with the movie’s plot.

Oldboy (2003)

Park Chan-wook’s film Oldboy is famous enough to have inspired an American remake directed by Spike Lee, though many forget it originally began as a popular Japanese manga series by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. Like the film, the manga tells the story of a man unexpectedly released after being imprisoned for decades, who then sets out to find and take revenge on those who held him captive. The story’s popularity even led Indian director Sanjay Gupta to create his own version, called Zinda, in 2006.

Snowpiercer (2013)

Many Americans first discovered director Bong Joon-ho through his 2013 film, Snowpiercer, which marked his first time directing in English. Surprisingly, the movie’s story began as a French graphic novel called Le Transperceneige from the 1980s. The plot is similar to the film: after a catastrophic, human-caused climate event, the last people on Earth live aboard a constantly moving train, with passengers separated into classes. The original graphic novel spanned three volumes, and a fourth, Terminus, was released in 2015, continuing the story after the film and bringing it to a close.

2 Guns (2013)

At first glance, 2 Guns appears to be a typical action movie about guys with guns. However, it’s surprisingly good, and it’s actually based on a comic book series by Steven Grant, who also wrote The Punisher and The Defenders. While the comic version has a more complex plot, the movie stays true to the central idea: two thieves team up for dangerous heists, unaware that one is an undercover DEA agent and the other a Navy SEAL. Their mission is to take down major criminals, but things get complicated when their superiors try to turn them against each other.

2025-11-17 23:58