Originally slated to hit theaters on July 20, Alita: Battle Angel will now be released on December 21. It will go head-to-head with Aquaman and the Transformers spinoff, Bumblebee. That's some serious box office competition. On its original July 20 release date, the film would have competed against Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 06), a Mamma Mia! sequel (July 20) and Mission: Impossible - Fallout (July 27).
It will be interesting to find out in the coming months why Fox decided to push the film back. Are they
changing the title character's eyes or does Fox believe they have a shot at snagging the lion share of Holiday box office revenue? Stay tuned to Anime Mojo for additional reporting.
PLOT DESCRIPTION (per THR)
Set in the 26th century, Alita tells of a female cyborg (Salazar) that is discovered in a scrapyard by a scientist. With no memory of her previous life except her deadly martial-arts training, the woman becomes a bounty hunter, tracking down criminals. The action-adventure story is meant to serve as a backdrop to themes of self-discovery and the search for love.
The full cast for the film includes:
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Rosa Salazar as Alita
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Christoph Waltz as Dr. Ido
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Jackie Earle Haley is rumored to be playing Desty Nova or possibly Kaos
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Ed Skrein as Zapan
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Mahershala Ali as Vector
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Keean Johnson as Hugo
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Lana Condor as Koyomi
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Leonard Wu as Kinuba
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Marko Zaror as Ajakutty
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Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Van/Tanji
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Eiza Gonzales in an undisclosed role
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Jennifer Connelly in an undisclosed role
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Michelle Rodriguez as Gelda
Robert Rodriguez directs, while James Cameron serves as executive producer. Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis wrote the script.
Alita: Battle Angel currently has a July 20, 2018 release date.