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

Rupert Sanders Will Direct Live-Action GHOST IN THE SHELL Movie

It's been years since we've heard anything new concerning the live-action Ghost In The Shell movie from Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg, but Deadline has a production update. They say that, Rupert Sanders (Snow White And The Huntsman) has made a deal to direct and the project has a new script from William Wheeler.

Previously, a draft from screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Shutter Island, Terminator: Genesis) had been written but likely won't be used. Sanders has a few other productions in the works, but this could be priority, if Edge of Tomorrow (another manga adaptation) becomes a big box office hit. At one point Rupert Sanders (like Neill Blomkamp) was being eyed to direct a Halo film. This was after directing the live-action ODST trailer. Having Rupert return to science fiction is a very good thing.



Sanders is the type of director they need for this project, a stellar visionary but new enough that will try new things. While I didn't love Huntsman, I did enjoy a lot of the visuals and mostly everyone in it (besides the wooden performance of Kristen Stewart). Let's just hope Rupert can be a little more professional with his lead actress, this time around. The key aspect now will be finding the right actors.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Paramount Sets June 2015 Release Date For TERMINATOR Reboot Which Will Be First In A New Trilogy

Some new information about the next Terminator film has been revealed by Deadline. As Skydance Productions, Annapurna Pictures and Paramount Pictures will partner on the film which will be released on June 26th 2015. Coming out the same year as Avengers 2, Star Wars Episode VII, Ant-Man, Jurassic Park 4, Fantastic Four and Pirates 5. The film would be the first installment in a rebooted trilogy.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is currently the only person attached to the film besides newly announced writers Laeta Kalorgridis (Avatar, Shutter Island, Ghost In The Shell, Battle Angel Alita) and Patrick Lussier (Scream 1-3, Apollo 18, Red Eye). Laeta has worked with James Cameron which is sign the project might end up getting the blessings and support of Jim. A director hasn't been named but it was revealed that Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Only God Forgives, Drive) took a meeting. Script writer Patrick Lussier also dabbles as a director. Helming action/horror flicks My Bloody Valentine, Halloween III and Drive Angry, which could make him a candidate. There were also rumblings that Dwayne Johnson was wanted to play the new Terminator. While it's interesting to see them try to push a giant three part story a similar thing happened with Terminator Salvation and it ended up being underwhelming.

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 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."

'AVATAR 4' A Possibility, So What Happens With 'BATTLE ANGEL'?

It's starting look like James Cameron might be putting hold Battle Angel: Alita to focus on a numerous amount of Avatar sequels. As he recently talked to NewYorkTimes revealing that he wants to make Avatar 4. He confirms that his main focus will be the Avatar franchise and won't be developing or producing any new projects. James is currently writing Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 which is expected to start production in a year or two.

"I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the 'Avatar' business. Period. That’s it. I’m making 'Avatar 2,' 'Avatar 3,' maybe 'Avatar 4,' and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts," Cameron said about his future plans. "And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the 'Avatar' landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can’t say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing. I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition. So that’ll be a film that’ll get made this year and come out first quarter of next year."

Last month Cameron told MTV he still intends to direct Alita but with three time-consuming sequels to Avatar can we really believe he'll be able to fit it in? On the other hand, with Avatar 2's 2014 release date being changed could Alita (with a completed script) end up going into production first? Cameron did shoot test-footage for Alita a while back and was finishing rewrites on the script while Avatar was originally shooting (wearing a Battle Angel tee on set in the above image), so anything is possible.

Shawn Levy To Direct Fantastic Voyage

Deadline reports that Shawn Levy (Real Steel) is set to direct the 3D remake of Fantastic Voyage. James Cameron is producing the film which has Laeta Kalogridis set to do rewrites on the script. Kalogridis is becoming known for writing massive films previously working on Avatar and Shutter Island. She's also been working on Battle Angel Alita and Ghost In The Shell adaptations.

Other directors who met with Cameron about the film included Timur Bekmambetov, Darren Aronofsky, Louis Leterrier and Jonathan Mostow. Paul Greengrass (Bourne 2-3, Green Zone) had been attached to the project at one point and it was rumored Cameron wanted Leterrier (Clash of The Titans, Incredible Hulk) to direct. I really have zero interest or expectations with this remake. Hopefully it ends up a fun adventure film either way.

Having James Cameron on board as a producer doesn't mean a film will be as good as one of his. Sanctum, which Cameron produced hasn't been doing well with critics or audiences. His silly promotional stunts (holding interviews underwater) gave hints about the quality of the film. While Levy isn't a proven action director outside his kids films he could do very well with a solid script from Laeta. Along with a decent cast and help from a solid special effects/3D camera team.

Laeta Kalogridis Producing & Writing Technotise Film

It looks like the Technotise teaser trailer by Jaron Pitts has caught the attention of screenwriter and Avatar producer Laeta Kalogridis. The teaser was commissioned by Scott Glassgold who holds the film rights and wanted to gain interest for it's development. It seems to have worked as Laeta Kalogridis had been pitching the project to prospective studios. HeatVision reports that Legendary Pictures has picked up the pitch and Laeta will write the screenplay. The teaser was edited together with existing footage from films like Resident Evil and The Island along with added digital effects.




Laeta Kalogridis is no stranger to comics and anime she wrote early drafts for both X-Men and Wonder Woman. She is also currently developing scripts for Battle Angel Alita and Ghost In The Shell. Kalogridis worked in the horror/thriller genre as well writing the adapted screenplay for Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. It will be interesting who they'll hire to direct the film considering the big names Kalogridis has worked with previously.