Actor Christoph Waltz, who starred as Dr. Dyson Ido in Alita: Battle Angel, recently commented on the film’s passionate fan base and the possibility of a sequel film.
Christoph Waltz on Alita
While speaking with Collider to promote his upcoming new Quibi “Movie in Chapters,” Waltz was asked if he would be interested in a sequel.
He responded, “Of course! Of course I would! But, you know, I’m as wise as you are.”
He then revealed his disappointment on not hearing anything while also praising the film’s passionate fan base, “I haven’t heard anything and I’m a little disappointed and surprised that I haven’t heard a thing so far, because I know that it has followers. I know that people liked it and aside from what others said, I loved it and I liked working on it and I liked the result.”
He then questioned that the lack of sequel might be due to Disney, “You know, it was Fox and Fox doesn’t exist anymore. Now it’s Disney. Maybe it doesn’t fit into the Disneyfication, but I have no clue. I have no clue.”
He concluded saying, “Maybe they’re working on something and I wouldn’t be the first person to hear, but meanwhile, I haven’t heard anything.”
Rosa Salazar
Waltz isn’t the only Alita: Battle Angel actor who wants to see a sequel. Rosa Salazar, who played Alita, made it clear she wants to continue playing Alita until her “last breath.”
At the Television Critics Association reception in July 2019, Salazar spoke with Slash Film telling them, “I would play Alita ‘til my last breath. I would, and thanks to the performance capture technology, I probably could.”
She also encouraged fans to support the film via the purchase of Blu-rays to signal support for the film and hopefully get Disney executives to take notice of the passionate fan base. She also noted she hadn’t heard anything about a sequel yet.
Related: Alita: Battle Angel Star Rosa Salazar Discusses Possibility of Sequel
Salazar stated, “Not yet, but buy those Blu-rays. On Amazon. But no, I haven’t heard anything yet.”
She also indicated that she might actually call up Disney’s Alan Horn to pitch an Alita sequel, but it wasn’t the right time just following the Disney acquisition of Fox.
She explained, “Yeah, I mean, they had a crazy merger. People are gaining jobs, people are losing jobs. The whole Disney/Fox acquisition is so involved, this isn’t the right time for me to call Alan Horn and be like, ‘Hey bro, I know you got a lotta stuff going on, but like what about Alita 2?'”
Passionate Fans
Alita: Battle Angel does have some of the most passionate fans out there. Back in January 2020, they launched a campaign to have an airplane fly over the Oscars with a banner reading #AlitaSequel. They would deliver on that promise.
Ok everyone the banner is on its way. Let’s hope the weather holds! #AlitaSequel #AlitaArmy pic.twitter.com/612U3KNC7T
— ST (@challengerST) February 9, 2020
Related: Fans Campaign Disney for an Alita: Battle Angel Sequel – #AlitaSequel Trends on Twitter
Not only did they get the plane to fly above the Oscars, but they’ve run a number of Twitter campaigns and have gotten the #AlitaSequel and other hashtags to trend on a number of occasions.
Alita: Battle Angel earned $85.7 million at the domestic box and $404.8 million worldwide. The production budget for the film is estimated at $170 million. The-Numbers reports the film has sold $23.1 million in domestic video sales that includes Blu-ray and DVD sales.