Twentieth Century Fox‘s long awaited manga adapatation Alita: Battle Angel has potentially found its next star as The Hollywood Reporter today brings word that two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz has entered talks to play Doctor Dyson opposite leading lady Rosa Salazar. Dyson is a cybersurgeon who becomes a father figure to Salazar’s Alita.
Set in the 26th century, Alita: Battle Angel tells the story of Alita, an amnesiac female cyborg who is rescued from a scrapyard by Dyson. The rebuilt Alita, remembering only her training in a deadly martial art, becomes a hunter-warrior, tracking down and eliminating vicious criminals. Within the context of an epic action-adventure, the film aims to explore a young woman’s journey of self-discovery and finding love.
James Cameron had been developing the big screen adaptation for more than a decade, but now that he’s is in pre-production on four Avatar sequels, he has his hands a little full and has turned the Alita reins over to Sin City director Robert Rodriguez.
“Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years,” Cameron said when the film was officially announced last year. “So I was pumped when he said he wanted to do Battle Angel. He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.”
Christoph Waltz starred earlier this year in David Yates’ The Legend of Tarzan and can be seen coming up in both Justin Chadwick’s 17th century drama Tulip Fever and in Alexander Payne’s sci-fi satire Downsizing.
