The Hollywood Reporter says that Nashville and The Fosters star Keean Johnson has landed the highly-coveted Alita: Battle Angel role of the love interest for Rosa Salazar’s title character. Johnson will play Hugo, a young man who teaches Alita how to play a gladiator-style game called Motorball.
He joins a cast that also includes two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz as Doctor Dyson, Oscar nominee Jackie Earl Haley in an undisclosed role, and Ed Skrein as the villain cyborg Zapan.
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.
A Twentieth Century Fox production, Alita: Battle Angel will begin production in Austin next month. Cameron and Jon Landau will produce for Fox under their Lightstorm Entertainment banner.
