The distant prospect of a live-action adaptation of Yukiro Kushito's "Battle Angel Alita" manga has been torturing fans for over 15 years now. James Cameron was originally supposed to direct, but he got sidetracked by "Avatar." He's since moved into the role of producer, with Robert Rodriguez taking the directing reins. Recently, "The Maze Runner's" Rosa Salazar has been cast in the title role. Couple that with the confirmed release date of July 20, 2018, and it seems that the long-awaited film is slowly but surely moving forward.

Now another piece of the puzzle seems to be falling into place. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christoph Waltz is in talks to play Doctor Dyson Ido, the cyber-surgeon who finds the titular cyborg heroine in a scrapyard and repairs her. Afterwards, she becomes a bounty hunter and begins hunting criminals, all while trying to unearth the memories of her past life.

As THR notes, the heroic role would be a change of pace for Waltz, who has mostly played villains in recent years. However, let's not forget his mesmerizing turn as eccentric good guy Dr. King Schultz in 2012's "Django Unchained." Coincidentally, Schultz was also a bounty hunter in that film.

The adaptation, retitled "Alita: Battle Angel," is being produced by 20th Century Fox. The manga has only been fully adapted once before for a two-episode OVA back in 1993.