The one project that James Cameron seems to have been eternally attached to is the adaptation of the sci-fi/action manga Battle Angel Alita. With Cameron permanently devoted to making nothing but Avatar sequels and theme parks, it was mostly assumed that the project had finally crumbled into dust. Oh, if we could only be so lucky.
Deadline reports that Cameron and 20th Century Fox are still pursuing the project, but Cameron will be acting as a producer only. The director he’s chosen to take over the project?
Robert Rodriguez.
At one point in my life, I was a hardcore fan of Rodriguez. His DIY attitude and over-the-top sensibilities vibed with me so hard… when I was around fourteen years old. After the grating experience of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and the mind-numbing awfulness of Machete Kills, I’ve been pretty turned off of Rodriguez’s particular brand of juvenile excess. And the fact that he’s attached to a Jonny Quest film makes me all kinds of worried.
Now, I have to confess that I’ve never read a single page of Battle Angel Alita, so maybe Rodriguez’s sensibilities are actually appropriate for the property. I know this is something a certain sect of fans have been clamoring for, so I’ll defer to their opinions. All I know is that I don’t have much reason to get excited for any Robert Rodriguez project at this point. I’d be more than happy to see Alita: Battle Angel (apparently, the film will flip around some of the titling. I wish they’d go with the manga’s actual translation: Gun Dream) be the movie that reinvigorates Robert Rodriguez for me, but I won’t hold my breath.
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