10 Cancelled Movie Sequels (That Could Still Happen)
6. Alita: Battle Angel 2
Cancellation
Like Edge of Tomorrow, Alita: Battle Angel didn't blow the doors off the box-office, but it did do well enough to warrant a sequel. Producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez always intended to make more than one - the original even lays the seeds for a franchise - but ultimately, it's not their decision.
The first film came out right when the massive Disney/Fox merger was taking place, and this has complicated the production of a sequel, something that star Rosa Salazar confirmed to SlashFilm in July 2019:
"The whole Disney/Fox acquisition is so involved, this isn’t the right time for me to call [Walt Disney Studios chief creative officer] Alan Horn and be like, ‘Hey bro, I know you got a lotta stuff going on, but like what about Alita 2?'"
Then, in April 2020, actor Christoph Waltz cast doubt on the possibility of a sequel, saying that he hasn't heard anything about it. According to him, the sequel was a Fox thing, but after the Disney merger, "Fox doesn’t exist anymore."
By the sounds of it, Alita 2 hasn't been greenlit, and in Hollywood, that's often a nice way of saying "cancelled".
Why It's Not Dead
On the other hand, Alita 2 is still very much a possibility. The franchise doesn't seem like typical Disney fare but it is suitable for families, with the first film being slapped with a 12 rating in the UK.
Plus, the stars of the film (and the fans) have expressed interest in a followup on countless occasions, and like we said, Disney hasn't officially pulled the plug just yet. Plus, again, Cameron and Rodriguez already have more plans for this series - so, creatively, the interest is there.