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

Arnold Schwarzenegger To Play Villainous General In James Cameron's AVATAR Sequels?

LatinoReview has an update concerning James Cameron's Avatar sequels which would see Arnold Schwarzenegger re-teaming with Jim after 20 years. Arnold is said to be playing a villainous General in the film or films. I assume that he'll be sent to Pandora to regain control of the planet. At one point Cameron was aiming to bring Schwarzenegger into the Alien franchise (studio moved on without Cameron on both Alien 3 and Alien 5), so it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the world of Avatar. It's possible this villain could be apart of more than one of the three sequels currently being written.

James Cameron And Fox Announce AVATAR 2 (December 2016), AVATAR 3 (December 2017) And AVATAR 4 (December 2018)

James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have made it official (via Deadline) as they have announced plans to make three sequels to smash hit Avatar. We've heard previously that Cameron was currently prepping production for Avatar 2 sometime in 2014 but this is the first official word of Avatar 4. The studio and Cameron have announced plans to release Avatar 2 in December 2016, Avatar in December 2017 and Avatar 4 in December 2018. They also announce writers Josh Friedman (Word of The Worlds), Rick Jaffa/Amanda Silver (Rise/Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes) and Shane Salerno have been tapped to help write the three sequels with James.

Sam Worthington Offered Role In 'TEN' Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

ShowBlitz reports that Aussie actor Sam Worthington (Avatar) has been offered a co-starring role in the action thriller Ten. Screenwriter turned director David Ayer (End of Watch, Street Kings, Training Day) will helm the film with a script from Skip Woods (Swordfish, A Good Day To Die Hard) and already stars Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The film follows an elite DEA task force that robs a dangerous drug cartel under the guise of a tactical raid on one of its safe houses. They think they’ve gotten away with millions in merch, until team members begin getting bumped off one by one.

'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.

The Last Days of American Crime Could Get A New Director

Deadline reports that commercial/music video director Anthony Mandler is in talks to direct the feature film adaptation of the graphic novel The Last Days of American Crime. It takes place in the future, as America responds to a second major terrorism attack by developing technology that eliminates the impulse to commit crimes of any kind. The protagonist leads a heist team that plans to pull off a final job five days before the signal rubs out the criminal instinct. Sam Worthing who was expected to star and produce has since left the project. Noomi Rapace (Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes 2, Prometheus) had been attached as well but it's unknown if she'll stay on board.

Dracula Year Zero Gets New Director

Deadline reports that Dracula Year Zero which was in limbo has a new director. Alex Proyas, who was set to direct originally decided to pursue Paradise Lost instead putting the vampire film on ice. Now, it looks like Dracula is being resurrected one more time with newcomer Gary Shore at the helm. Shore isn't well known but you might remember one of his shorts that made it's rounds the web a while back. It featured Wolverine and a partner slashing their way through the Hand. The quick short was visually stunning and it seems it helped Gary land this project. Currently, Paradise Lost has been given the axe by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., so Proyas is back onboard as the film's producer.

Universal Pictures has hired Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless to rework the film's script. Sam Worthington who was originally attached to play Prince Vlad of Transylvania (Vlad The Impaler) has left the project. I assume that Universal will start movement on it's production soon as another Dracula project titled Harker is also on the horizon. The film won't be taking it's cues from Bram Stoker's novel but rather the myth of Vlad The Impaler and his battles against the Turks. This was somewhat explored in the opening scenes of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.

Posters For Wrath Of The Titans

Edgar Ramirez And Toby Kebbell In Wrath Of The Titans

Wrath of The Titans Poster

FIRST LOOK: Wrath of The Titans

Jonah Hill & Sam Worthington In Live-Action MW3 Ad

I'm not big on video games but some do have amazing mythology or great ad campaigns. MW3 lands into the area of great ad campaign as this new live-action commercial is very effective. Actors Jonah Hill (Superbad, 21 Jump Street) and Sam Worthington (Avatar, Wrath of The Titans) star as The Vet and The Noob. There have been talks of making a movie from the Modern Warfare games which was hinted by Kevin McKidd (Rome, Trainspotting) who played Soap in the last installment. This latest ad might be the angle to go with if they ever did. An action comedy could end up better than taking the whole thing too seriously.

Warner Bros. Moving Forward With Clash Of The Titans 3

HeatVision reports that Warner Bros. is asking writers Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson (Wrath of The Tiants) to start development on Clash of The Titans 3.  It's expected the third installment would continue to focus on the adventures of Perseus (Worthington) and his new side-kick Agenor (Tobey Kebbell). While a deal hasn't been made Wrath of The Titans director Jonathan Liebesman is likely to return for the sequel. Wrath will be hitting theaters on March 30th 2012.

Actors Confirmed For Wrath of The Titans

ComingSoon received the Wrath of The Titans press release which again confirms returning cast members Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Queen Andromeda now played by Rosamund Pike. Not previously mentioned is Danny Huston who is reprising the role of Poseidon. Along with new additions Edgar Ramirez as Ares, Tobey Kebbell as Argenor and Bill Nighy as Hephaestus the blacksmith to the gods. Oddly enough Gemma Arterton who ended up the love interest in the first film doesn't appear as in the cast. Her role could possibly be cut or even in the process of being re-cast.

Rosamund Pike To Play Andromeda In Wrath of The Titans

Deadline reports that Rosamund Pike (An Education, Die Another Day) has been recast as Princess Andromeda in Jonathan Liebesman's (Battle Los Angeles) Wrath of The Titans. Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Liam Nesson and Ralph Fiennes are reprising their roles. Pike had recently been linked to both X-Men First Class and Superman.

TheWrap previously reported that Hayley Atwell (Captain America), Clemence Poesy (In Bruges, 127 Hours), Dominique McElligott (Moon) and Georgina Haig (Wasted On The Youth) had been candidates to replace Alexa Davalos. The same report linked Edgar Rameriz (Carlos) as being in final talks to take the role of Ares, Tobey Kebbell (RockNRolla) for the role of Agenor and Bill Nighy as Hephaestus the blacksmith to the gods. 

Cameron Says Avatar 2 Coming Christmas 2014, Avatar 3 In 2015

James Cameron has revealed to EW a working release date for Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. He says they will be aiming for Christmas 2014 release for Avatar 2 and the third film the following year. He goes on to mention he is currently writing and again confirms the films will be shot back to back. I assume the three films could end up being seamlessly interweave together similar to what was done with Lord of The Rings. The films are expected to spend time exploring the rest of Pandora including it's oceans.

"I am in the process of writing the next two Avatar films now. We are planning to shoot them together and post them together, and we will probably release them not quite back to back, but about a year apart. Christmas ’14 and ’15 is the current plan."

Actor & Director For Superior To Be Announced In January

Mark Millar has Tweeted that along with a director to be announced in January an actor has been locked in to star in Superior. The comic focuses on a teen with MS who is transformed into his favorite superhero, think Superman meets Big. It mixes well established comic book mythologies from Superman, Thor to Shazam!. Even more impressive is Millar's statement "highest profiled actor of 2010". That is suggestive as there are lots of names that he could be referring to from Ryan Reynolds to Leonardo DiCaprio. The list of actors I have in my head that would consider this project include Sam Worthington and Tom Hardy. Jon Hamm's name has been tossed around by Millar for the film but didn't have a massive breakout in 2010 besides his role in The Town.

Now comes the director involved. I won't pretend to know what direction the film is going since I don't even know which studio has grabbed the project. If it's Universal or Fox I expect someone like Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) could very well be lined up. Reeves has been in contention for both Superman and Wolverine 2. He also made my list of possible directors for Iron Man 3. If it's Warner Bros. Guy Ritchie's name had been thrown around during talks for Nemesis before Tony Scott was hired. Yet since this is too similar to Superman I doubt he'll direct this one considering his relationship with both Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.

Matthew Vaughn on the other hand could be another person to take on the film. He campaigned with Millar for their own pitch for the Superman reboot to Warner Bros. Vaughn also had been attached to direct Thor before Kenneth Branagh came on board. While Matthew has stated he believes the superhero film genre is on it's last legs he went on to direct X-Men First Class and is still interested in making Kick-Ass 2. Superior is a very different take on the whole genre and could interest lots of director, so who knows?

James Franco & Javier Bardem Offered Roles In Wrath of The Titans

CBM is reporting that Warner Bros. is in talks with both James Franco and Javier Bardem for Wrath of The Titans. The sequel to Clash of the Titans is directed by Jonathan Liebesman and will see the return of Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton and Liam Neeson. Franco would play Agenor the son of Poseidon and Bardem would be Ares the god of war. Franco is also rumored to be involved with Ridley Scott's Alien prequels so he might have to decide on one of the blockbusters.

Clash of The Titans 2 Starts Shooting In February

ComingSoon was able to talk to producer Basil Iwanyk about the progress of Clash of The Titans 2. He revealed that director Jonathan Liebesman is ready to roll on the sequel in February. Confirming that Sam Worthington, Gemm Arterton, Liam Neesen and Ralph Finnes will be returning.


"'Clash of the Titans 2' will go February 1st in the UK. Jonathan Liebesman, who just did this movie 'Battle: Los Angeles', is directing it. We're on early prep on that. It's a huge movie and we want to do a much better job on it," he told us. "Listen, we're prideful people and we want to win and the 3D really helped us in a lot of ways, but we also took a lot of heat for it. I think for my own career and my own sense of purpose, I want this movie to rock… and it will."


"Sam's back, Gemma Arterton, Ralph and Liam's back, but we have a whole new group of people. I think we learned a lot from the tone of the first one, whether or not it got too serious or got too jokey, and it's a really cool group of guys and three new big roles that I think will be movie stars, and we have high expectations for it, we really really do. The design work looks great and it's going to be a whole different set of muscles to be flexed than 'The Town.'"

Warner Bros Gets Rights To Dan Dare, Worthington Will Star

Variety reports that Warner Bros has obtained the rights to the Dan Dare film which includes Sam Worthington attached in the lead role. Dare is very similar to science fiction heroes like Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers but is British.