AVATAR 2 Delayed Until 2017 And Could Effect BATTLE ANGEL's Development

There is word from James Cameron (via Coming Soon) that his Avatar sequel with the working title of Avatar 2 is now being delayed from it's original release date of December 2016 to December 2017. The delays are due to the extensive writing needed to make sure all three sequels are cohesive with each other. Cameron still expects to shoot all three films at the same which is likely apart of the delay.

“There’s a layer of complexity in getting the story to work as a saga across three films that you don’t get when you’re making a stand-alone film,” said Cameron.“We’re writing three simultaneously. And we’ve done that so that everything tracks throughout the three films. We’re not just going to do one and then make up another one and another one after that and parallel with that, we’re doing all the design. So we’ve designed all the creatures and the environments.” 

This makes sense since the team of writers include Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver working on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, while Shane Salerno is writing Avatar 4 . James Cameron being involved with development on all three scripts. A rather large task since he's also directing all three films as well.

The news will likely also see delays with both Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 release dates as well pushing them to December 2018 and December 2019.

Hey look! It's a Battle Angel t-shirt.

Like most, we were all shocked when James Cameron announced he was making three sequels to Avatar. It's a bizarre move on the part of Cameron considering all the criticism he received for the film's boring and predictable story.

I'm sort of lamenting to all the wonderful films he could be making instead of focusing on this sub-par science fiction franchise. It's $2.7 billion box office is likely one of driving factors along with his nutty belief these films could help the environmental movement.

Fans like myself would rather see James Cameron focusing on more gritty material and getting back to his Terminator and Aliens roots.

Back in 2013, James Cameron did confirm to fellow director Alfonso Cauron during the TAG DF event that he was indeed going to be returning to Battle Angel Alita once production on Avatar 3 was completed in 2017. The project titled Alita is an adaptation of the manga and anime.

Combined with news that Avatar 2 will be delayed until 2017 and a third sequel added to the lineup since his announced development plans for Alita. I'm curious if the film will ever get made or will be further delayed.

Cameron had been originally developing the manga/anime adaptation's script with screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis (Ghost In The Shell, Terminator Genesys, Avatar, Shutter Island) while shooting Avatar and you can even spot him wearing a Battle Angel t-shirt on the set in the picture above.

Jim started commissioning design work on the film in 2008 which gives you an idea how long he's been working on the project. Cameron would eventually shoot test-footage for the film but it never seemed to make it's way online or to the public.

Alita, a cyborg who has lost all memories and is found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a Hunter Warrior or bounty hunter. The story traces Alita's attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey. 



The project is like a mix of Blade Runner, Rollerball and Akira meets Ghost In The Shell with organ/robotic implant thievery. Littered with hardcore action and violence more in the realm of a Paul Verhoeven film like Robcop or Total Recall. Not to mention the protagonist of the film would be a very young girl.

During it's original development there had been a large demand to see Juno's Ellen Page take the role of Alita. Since then she would go on to star in huge blockbusters such as X-Men Days of Future Past and Christopher Nolan's Inception. Fox has even played with the idea of a Kitty Pryde spin-off but no official plans have been made.

It's more than likely that Page has aged-out of the role since the test footage was described to have an actress that looked like she was fourteen years old.

A younger actress who I think would be perfect for the role is Joey King (The Conjuring, Fargo, Crazy Stupid Love, Battle LA). You might remember she played a young Talia al Ghul in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

SOURCE: AP

Laeta Kalogridis And Patrick Lussier Hired To Write TERMINATOR 5

Deadline reports that Annapurna Pictures and Skydance Productions have finally hired writers for their new Terminator film. They picked Laeta Kalogridis the co-writer of Avatar and Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine, Drive Angry). Laeta's credits also includes Shutter Island, Alexander, Pathfinder along with in-development projects like James Cameron's Battle Angel and Ghost In The Shell live-action movie. The project currently is without a director but it is interesting to see a two-time James Cameron collaborator has been brought on to work on the script. No word on if Arnold Schwarzenegger or Christian Bale will actually be coming back.

James Cameron To DIrect THE INFORMATIONIST After AVATAR Sequels

HeatVision report that James Cameron will be eating his own words as he's signed on to direct The Informationist based on the novel by Taylor Stevens for 20th Century Fox. Cameron previously announced he was only focusing Avatar films for the rest of his career. That doesn't seem to be the case with Battle Angel and now The Informationist on his to-direct-list. The main character is described as a mix between Salander and Sherlock.

Centers on Vanessa “Michael” Munroe, a woman born in central Africa who spent her teenage years as a protege of gunners and mercenaries. She reinvents herself as an information dealer for wealthy clients, but when a billionaire hires her to find his daughter who went missing in Africa, Munroe finds herself back in the Dark Continent.

James Cameron Comments On 'BATTLE ANGEL' Status

There was some concern that when James Cameron announced he would only be focusing on Avatar sequels and giving up on producing/directing new projects. A few people thought that this meant Battle Angel aka Alita would be on the chopping-block. Cameron gave a brief comment to AICN when they asked if he was giving up on Alita. James said it's still happening but not for a few years. A script for Alita has been completed along with test-footage being shot. It's expected that Avatar 2 and even Avatar 3 will shoot before Alita moves forward. Avatar 4 and more installments are in the cards as well.

"No. I still love that project. But Battle Angel is not going to happen for a few years."

James Cameron Gives Battle Angel Alita Update

While talking to Collider James Cameron gave a brief update on his long gestating adaptation of Battle Angel Alita. Jim confirms that he is indeed still directing the film and is expecting to start on when he completes Avatar 2 & 3. Which means we won't see production start on the film 2016. It's sort of frustrating since Battle Angel has a completed script and has years of production art finished. You'd think Cameron would focus on a project that is further along. Yet they could be still trying to work out the arch for the Alita trilogy.

"I’m obviously going to be pretty busy for the next five years and so I had to consider, do I hand this project off to another director? And then I thought, ‘No, I love it too much.


It’s such a rich world. What I’m going to do is take the spine story and use elements from the first four books. So, the Motorball from books three and four, and parts of the story of one and two will all be in the movie."