As a side note, Avatar mastermind James Cameron confirmed what was long unclear after the disappointing box office results of Alita: Battle Angel in 2019: The dystopian story about a cyborg girl with memory gaps is getting sequels. Yes, several, as Cameron revealed in an interview with Forbes. He has not yet shared specific details about the content. But he doesn’t have to, after all, we know the template.
The sci-fi series is based on the Japanese manga series Gunnm, which appeared in German-speaking countries in the early 2000s as Battle Angel Alita. Adapting the first four volumes, the 2019 film follows Alita’s origin story (played by Rosa Salazar) and her growing anger against those in power in the sky city of Zalem.
If the sequel stays close to the original, it should show us more of Zalem for the first time. And could also deal with two aspects of the manga that still send chills down my spine to this day.
Following light spoilers for the manga series.
Alita: Battle Angel 2 could reveal the true monster of the sci-fi series
In the first part of the series, Alita mainly fights against bounty hunters who have been modified beyond recognition and who look more like monsters than people. However, the ending of Alita: Battle Angel reveals who the real villain is: genius scientist Desty Nova (Edward Norton), who conducts experiments on humans and made himself virtually immortal through nanotechnology.
A scene from Volume 8 of the manga has stuck in my mind for over 20 years: When Nova’s son Kaos visits his father’s hideout, he discovers a horse carousel – albeit with live animals. Like wooden carousel horses, thick sticks are stuck in their bodies to hold them in place. One of the panicking animals finally tears itself free in pain, but collapses after a few steps and bleeds to death from its immense wounds.
While Kaos is shocked, Nova is amused by the animal’s “stupidity” that should have just kept running in circles. A scene from a nightmarewhich could also prove impressively in the film adaptation how insane and sadistic Nova really is.
The first part of Alita: Battle Angel was also pretty dark:
Alita: Battle Angel – Trailer 3 (German) HD
Absolute horror hides behind the perfect facade of the sky city of Zalem
Zalem is also likely to play a much larger role in the continuation of the Alita series than before – and it will not only really interesting, but also quite abysmal. The supposed paradise, which is reserved for only very specific people, is rotting under the shiny surface. Little is what it seems, and one element from the original is particularly traumatizing.
In Volume 9 of the manga series, Alita comes across a strange house in a park. People enter it but can’t get out. Her companion explains to her: It is about the so-called Endjoy, a kind of apparatus that people use to commit suicide.
The notion that a medical authority is a publicly available suicide machine erected is disturbing enough. I got really sick when the manga specified how people die here: When Alita destroys the facility, she pulls a huge bloody grinder out of the ground.
Will we see this scene in the upcoming films of the sci-fi series? Hopefully. One of the reasons why the Gunnm manga has so many fans is that it doesn’t shy away from the darkest aspects of human existence.
Streaming fodder until Alita 2 launch: The best series of 2023 so far
From the endless starting lists from Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and more, which titles have really been worthwhile so far this year? What insider tips did you discover? We have chosen the 23 best series from the first half of 2023 for you and present them to you in 2 (!) new stream browsing episodes. You can hear part 1 here:
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The following series highlights are included: 1923, Abbott Elementary, Arnold, Atlanta, Cunk on Earth, Daisy Jones and The Six, Silo, Ted Lasso, The Night Agent and Yellowjackets.
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